China's economic ambitions hit limits to growth as its National Congress meets

China's economic growth faces challenges as the National Congress convenes, highlighting tensions between technological ambitions and domestic demand.

China's progress in building a modern economy, evident in its kung-fu fighting robots and self-parking cars, is hitting limits as a downturn in its housing industry drags on, small businesses suffer and young people struggle to find jobs.

The gap between Chinese leader Xi Jinping's high-tech, artificial intelligence-driven ambitions and the hard realities of slowing growth is the backdrop for the annual meeting of the country's largely ceremonial national legislature, the National People's Congress, which begins on Thursday (March 5, 2026).

During the meetings, which draw about 3,000 deputies to Beijing, top leaders will outline China's annual target for growth and the Congress will endorse a five-year blueprint of policy priorities until 2030.

“What we'll see is the trade-off between whether it's going to be industry and tech, or looking after domestic demand,” said Alexander Davey, an analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies. “These are the two priorities that are juggling for Xi Jinping right now.”

In a city in southern China's Guangdong, families were cutting back on big purchases during last month's Lunar New Year holidays. Even for auspicious houseplants like orchids, used as a symbol of abundance and prosperity, prices were slashed by as much as 40% from last year.

The penny pinching has small business owners complaining about hard times.