Lower growth target, higher stakes: Key signals as China’s Two Sessions open
CNA
From a lower growth target to bigger bets on technology and consumption, China’s Two Sessions open with a sober assessment of economic challenges and a recalibration of policy priorities.
BEIJING: The lowest economic growth target since 1991. Public spending set to surpass 30 trillion yuan (US$4.3 trillion). And a rare candid admission that 2025 had been one of China’s hardest years in recent memory.
The country’s most important political event kicked off this week under heavy grey skies and snow - bringing together thousands of delegates from provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.
Delivering the annual government work report on Thursday (Mar 5), Premier Li Qiang laid out Beijing’s economic and policy priorities for 2026 - while also acknowledging persistent headwinds from weak domestic demand, a struggling property market and rising geopolitical risks.
“Rarely have we encountered such a grave and complex landscape, where external shocks and challenges were intertwined with domestic difficulties and tough policy choices,” Li said.
Trump said the US strikes had "totally demolished" most of Kharg Island and warned that more could follow, adding: "We may hit it a few more times just for fun."
In this first part of a series on electric vehicles in Asia, CNA examines how one of Southeast Asia’s largest untapped copper deposits in Mindanao could boost the Philippines’ role in the global EV supply chain.
BAGHDAD: Israel said the war against Iran was entering its "decisive phase" on Saturday (Mar 14), as explosions rocked cities across the Middle East, with strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility.Black smoke rose above Washington's embassy in Iraq, AFP journalists saw, the seco
TOKYO: The United States can provide "reliable" energy supplies to Asia-Pacific, US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on Saturday (Mar 14), as the Middle East war cripples the region's oil and gas flow.
The oil will be released in the form of loans that companies will return with extra barrels as a premium, the US Energy Department said.
SHANGHAI: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in a phone call that disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be resolved through dialogue and consultation, not
SEOUL/TOKYO: North Korea fired a projectile towards the sea on Saturday (Mar 14), South Korea and Japan said, with Tokyo saying it may have been a ballistic missile, while the US and South Korea conducted military drills.The projectile was fired toward the sea off North Korea's east coast, the South Korean mi
JAKARTA: Indonesia's senior economic minister said on Friday (Mar 13) that the country may impose additional taxes on certain commodities, such as palm oil, if the government needs to reduce the impact on the budget from risin
The United States has deployed its USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship to the Middle East, reports say, as the war with Iran enters its third week.
JAKARTA: Two men on a motorbike threw acid in the face of an Indonesian rights activist, leaving him badly hurt and prompting calls on Friday (Mar 13) for a thorough investigation amid concerns of democratic backsliding in the country.Andrie Yunus, deputy coordinator of the KontraS rights group, sustained se
The Malaysian government is in a strong position to absorb the higher costs due to the various fiscal reforms and consolidation measures implemented over the past three years, said Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan.
A second arms package, worth around US$14 billion, could be approved for Taiwan after US President Donald Trump visits Beijing later this month.
TEHRAN: Fresh strikes rocked Iran and several Gulf countries on Friday (Mar 13), as Israel and the Islamic Republic unleashed a new wave of attacks in a war that has ignited the Middle East and threatens to torpedo the wor