New Chinese foreign minister’s first ‘two sessions’ news conference to shed light on Beijing’s diplomatic priorities

This year’s “two sessions” – the annual meetings of the legislature and political advisory body – begin on March 4 and will complete a twice-a-decade leadership transition, with a reshuffle of top government jobs including the premier, and Xi Jinping set to secure a third term as president. As part of a six-part series on what to expect from this key event, Laura Zhou looks at the general foreign policy direction in China.

One of the highlights of the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, is the foreign minister’s news conference, a carefully choreographed affair that lays out Beijing’s foreign policy positions and also drops the occasional surprise.

As China-US relations sour, the first NPC news conference by new Foreign Minister Qin Gang at this month’s “two sessions” – the annual meetings of the NPC and China’s top political advisory body – will be watched closely to see if he offers any hints about how Beijing plans to manage its ties with foreign countries in an increasingly challenging and complicated international environment.

They said that since becoming China’s top leader just over a decade ago, President Xi Jinping had made national rejuvenation his top policy goal and fostering relationships with neighbouring countries to help achieve that has become a centrepiece of Chinese diplomacy.