Beyond the Headlines: A Practical Take on the Annual Session of the National People’s Congress
As the 1st Session of the 13th National People’s Congress of the PRC is coming to a close, global press reports, op-eds and academic analyses are focusing on the amendments to the State Constitution of the PRC. Virtually all discussions of the NPC Session have overlooked certain regulatory documents that would place the constitutional amendments under a very much different light.
More importantly, commentaries on the Presidential term limits have obscured the points of:
- Whether new policy lines have been decided;
- Whether changes in China’s regulatory compliance environment can be expected;
- Whether the NPC may initiate further changes or adjustments to the Belt and Road Initiative;
While the 5 minutes of my opening statements will be insufficient for an in-depth discussion of each one of these points, I will provide a short description of the most important changes as they may affect:
- The emerging regime of transnational governance;
- Structures and actors in the Belt and Road Initiative