The “two sessions” of the NPC and CPPCC ended in Beijing after only one week as NPC Chairman Zhao Leji delivered closing remarks on March 11. The National People's Congress (NPC) adopted an amendment to the Organic Law of the State Council, imposing stronger Communist Party control over the government as an implementer of its policies. The amendment is the first change to the State Council law since 1982 when it was formally introduced and passed. The NPC also passed Premier Li Qiang's Report on the Work of the Government, the 2024 budget – with increased spending on science and technology – and other reports.
Lei Jun, Co-founder and CEO of smartphone firm Xiaomi advocated in one of his four proposals the strengthening of AI education to drive the country’s technological and industrial upgrades. Lei said that the teaching of AI literacy should start as early as primary school, and continue throughout compulsory education, covering nine years in total. “There is a significant lack of top AI talent in our country,” Lei wrote in his proposal, cautioning that the cultivation of AI talent would be a critical factor to upgrading China’s industries. Lei also suggested introducing more AI-related subjects across Chinese universities, stepping up investment in AI education and strengthening collaboration with overseas institutions. Currently nearly 500 Chinese colleges offer Bachelor’s degrees in AI, with around 200 institutions applying to set up similar studies, representing a relatively small portion of the over 3,000 Chinese colleges. Cao Peng, Chair of the Technology Committee at Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, noted that the country needs more advanced home-made chips to train large language models (LLMs), which underpin products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. A number of local governments plan to issue “computing vouchers” to subsidize artificial intelligence (AI) and data-process related companies.
China will boost investment in science and technology by 10% this year to CNY379.8 billion, according to the Finance Ministry’s draft budget report released during the annual legislative sessions in Beijing. Science and technology has taken on unprecedented significance in this year’s budget, with the largest percentage increase of any major area of government spending – more than diplomacy, public security, education and defense – and marking a big jump from last year’s 2% rise. But it is far less than China’s overall spending on research and development (R&D) – from the government and the private sector – which surpassed CNY3.3 trillion last year, according to Science and Technology Minister Yin Hejun. In dollar terms, China is the world’s second largest R&D spender after the United States. While there were budget constraints affecting other sectors, science and technology would continue to see “guaranteed expenditure” because of its pivotal role in driving China’s development, according to the Finance Ministry.
Premier Li Qiang said ultra-long special treasury bonds would be issued annually to fund critical national strategies and boost security capabilities in vital R&D areas. This year CNY1 trillion worth of the bonds will be issued. Some CNY98 billion has been earmarked for basic research, an increase of 13.1% from 2023. More money will also be spent on nurturing and attracting talent, including strengthening support for young researchers and giving leading scientists greater control over resources. Science and Technology Minister Yin told reporters that total expenditure on R&D in 2023 was up 8.1% from the previous year and accounted for 2.64% of GDP.
Zheng Shanjie, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said on the sidelines of the just-concluded NPC session that China has the confidence, capabilities and conditions to meet its economic and social development targets for this year, adding that the favorable conditions for China’s economic development outweigh the unfavorable factors in 2024, and the upward trend in economic recovery will be further consolidated and strengthened. Despite anticipated challenges such as a possible more complex external environment and operational difficulties for some enterprises, these problems can be addressed through development.
In a press conference, Wu Qing, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), vowed to beef up institutional buildup of the capital market and to better ensure investor protection. In his government work report, Premier Li Qiang had emphasized that “the underlying stability of the capital market should be enhanced.” Wu said the CSRC “won't hesitate to act to correct extreme situations when the market seriously deviates from its fundamentals, irrational and violent fluctuations occur, liquidity is exhausted, or market panic and loss of confidence appears.” The first-time ever mention of enhancing the underlying stability of the capital market sends a strong signal of China's commitment to building itself into a financial powerhouse and sets the tone for the future development in related fields, delegates to the two sessions said. Wu Qing also called protection of small investors the “single most important mission” of the CSRC and warned those who commit illegal activities and distort the capital market.
This overview is based on reports by the China Daily, the Global Times and the South China Morning Post.
