Two meetings; Around 5.5% growth target; Xi on food security and ethnic unity; Ukraine crisis

Perhaps the biggest surprise from the government work report that Premier Li Keqiang delivered to the National People’s Congress was the GDP growth target of “around 5.5%”. That is definitely at the high end of the range most people were expecting, and the setting of the target so high has fueled hopes in some quarters of much more stimulus to come this year. The PRC domestic stock markets did not seem too excited though, as share prices hit a 20 month low.

Remember when there was hope that the government would drop a GDP growth target and that would be a sign of more seriousness about structural reform of the economy?

Foreign Minister Wang Yi had another phone call with US Secretary of State Blinken and gave a press conference on Monday. In response to a question from RT at the press conference, Wang Yi said:

China-Russia relationship is grounded in a clear logic of history and driven by strong internal dynamic, and the friendship between the two peoples is rock-solid. There is a bri…