中国总理李强3月5日在一年一度的两会上公布中国今年的经济增长预期目标是5%左右。这个具有雄心的目标，显示中国有信心继续保持中高速的经济增长。中国也要发展新质生产力、培育新兴产业和未来产业，包括新能源汽车、新材料、生物制造、商业航天、量子技术、生命科学等。

然而两会开幕前，全国人大宣布今年的两会不再举行总理记者会，打破了一个三十多年的惯例。消息一出，除了引起各方震惊，也削弱了各方对政府工作报告的关注。

中国为什么不再举行总理记者会？这个决定引起了什么批评？市场如何看待政府工作报告里提出的经济政策？5%左右的经济增长目标可能达标吗？

这期的早报播客《东谈西论》，听主持人韩咏红、华侨银行大中华区研究主管谢栋铭及《联合早报》中国新闻资深高级记者于泽远解析中国两会。

延伸阅读：

• 于泽远：中国为何不再举行总理记者会？
• 杨丹旭：熟悉的两会不同了

Chinese Premier Li Qiang unveiled China's economic growth target of around 5% for 2024 during the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), collectively known as the “two sessions” or “liang hui” in Chinese. This ambitious growth target reflects China's confidence in sustaining a moderately high-speed economic growth. The country aims to develop ‘new quality productive forces’ and emerging industries, spanning new energy vehicles, new materials, bio-manufacturing, commercial space exploration, quantum technology, and life sciences.

However, ahead of the “two sessions”, the NPC announced that it would scrap the premier's annual press conference, ending a tradition maintained for three decades. This unexpected announcement surprised many and diverted attention from the government work report.

Why did China decide to discontinue the premier's post-parliament press conference? What criticisms surround this decision? How does the market perceive the economic policies outlined in the Chinese government work report, and can the economic growth target be achieved? 

In this episode of Global Heartbeat podcast, host Han Yong Hong invites Tommy Xie, Head of Greater China Research & Strategy at OCBC Bank and Lianhe Zaobao’s China News Copy Editor Yu Zeyuan to share their insights on China’s ‘two sessions’ this year.

Hosted by Lianhe Zaobao’s Associate Editor, Han Yong Hong, Global Heartbeat is a Mandarin weekly news and current affairs podcast that is updated every Tuesday, 7.00 PM SGT. It is available on zaobao.sg, Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms.