China faces "immense" economic challenges as it emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, Premier Li Keqiang warned Friday as he opened his nation's annual legislative session that will seek to tighten Beijing's control over Hong Kong, EDNews.net reports citing AFP.
Li's opening speech to the 3,000-member National People's Congress (NPC) is China's version of the US president's "state of the union" address, and he went straight into the threat of the pandemic that emerged on Chinese soil.
"We have made major strategic achievements in our response to COVID-19," Li told mask-wearing delegates in Beijing's cavernous Great Hall of the People.
Citing the "great uncertainty" ahead, Li took the rare move of refraining from announcing a 2020 growth target for China's coronavirus-battered economy.
Li said only that Beijing will "give priority to stabilising employment and ensuring living standards".
The pandemic has sent US-China tensions spiralling to new heights, with US President Donald Trump this week saying Beijing was responsible for "mass worldwide killing".
China's official COVID-19 case numbers have dwindled in recent weeks even as millions were sickened abroad, which Beijing says proves the superiority of its authoritarian system.
Li's annual address is closely watched for clues on the ruling Communist Party's political, economic, and social priorities, including towards semi-autonomous Hong Kong.
