The opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

The annual "two sessions," a highly anticipated event on China's political calendar, began on Tuesday with the opening of the annual session of the country's top political advisory body.

The annual session of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), is set to begin on Wednesday.

Offering a critical window into China's development roadmap for 2025, the final year of its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), the sessions hold profound significance as the world's second-largest economy accelerates its shift toward high-quality development and advances Chinese modernization.

This year's "two sessions," the first since last July's reform-themed third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), are expected to shape the country's policy direction amid an increasingly complex and challenging domestic and global landscape.

Key political gatherings

Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders attended the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), held at the Great Hall of the People.

Wang Huning, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, delivered a work report on behalf of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee.

The country's top political advisor said China has accomplished its main economic and social development targets for 2024, applauding the major achievements made in the country's modernization drive.

During the eight-day sessions, the Chinese premier, top legislator, top political advisor, chief justice and top procurator will present work reports. Lawmakers will review the government's annual budget and development plan, and deliberate an amendment to the law on deputies to the NPC and local people's congresses.

In parallel, ministers from various government departments will hold interviews and press conferences to engage with the public, clarify policies, and address pressing concerns.

This year's "two sessions" are expected to foster consensus and enhance confidence as China strives to further deepen reforms and achieve the goals outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan.

Macroeconomic policy shift

This year's economic growth target, along with an array of widely-watched key macroeconomic indicators for 2025, including the deficit-to-GDP ratio and the inflation target, is expected to be unveiled in the government work report at the start of the NPC session.

In 2024, China achieved its growth target of around 5 percent, largely thanks to significant macroeconomic measures designed to counter economic headwinds.

Despite the challenges China's economy has faced in recent years, it is projected to contribute about 30 percent of global economic growth in 2024, making it the largest source of growth for the world economy.

While China's economy has demonstrated resilience, challenges and problems such as insufficient domestic demand and external pressures persist.

Amid evolving challenges, China has signaled a shift in its macroeconomic stance. Months before the "two sessions" at the tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference, policymakers pledged to roll out more proactive macro policies this year. Notably, they adopted a "moderately loose" monetary policy, significantly departing from the "prudent" approach over the past 14 years.

China has also pledged to actively use the room for a higher deficit, increase the issuance of local government special-purpose bonds, continue to issue ultra-long special treasury bonds and increase transfer payments from the central government to local governments. The specifics of these pro-growth measures will also be a key focus of this year's "two sessions."

Domestic demand, tech innovation

The Central Economic Work Conference also outlined key priorities, including boosting consumption, to shore up China's economy.

Jiang Ying, Deloitte China chair and a member of the CPPCC National Committee, believed that in 2025, the challenges China's economy will face, brought about by the reshaping of the international order and geopolitical conflicts, are becoming increasingly complex. "To address these challenges, China will emphasize achieving high-quality growth driven by domestic demand and technological innovation," she stated.

China has a supersized domestic market and a complete industrial system, with ample room for the upgrades of demand, said Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the third session of the 14th NPC, at a press conference held on Tuesday.

"To boost the greater stability and resilience of China's economy, it's important to reduce the negative impact of external economic shocks while promoting a shift in growth drivers from external demand to domestic demand," said Jin Penghui, director of the People's Bank of China Shanghai Head Office.

"This includes boosting consumption and upgrading consumption patterns, particularly by unlocking potential in areas such as services, health and digital consumption," added Jin, an NPC deputy.

Over the past month, Chinese tech start-up DeepSeek has made global waves with its open-source, widely popular chatbot, fueling expectations that this year's "two sessions" will highlight the development of new quality productive forces, particularly in areas like AI.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in 2024, China's total spending on research and development (R&D) amounted to 3.61 trillion yuan (about 503.21 billion U.S. dollars), securing its position as the world's second-largest spender on R&D.

Yan Chunhua, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a national lawmaker, told Xinhua that the applications of these technologies in their respective sectors will create new quality productive forces, fueling the high-quality development of China's economy and society.