What to know about the 'two sessions', China's biggest political meeting

The stage is set for China's biggest political gathering - carefully choreographed annual meetings of the political advisory body and the rubber-stamp national legislature.

The "two sessions", which started on Wednesday and typically run for one to two weeks, signal the priorities of the world's second-largest economy.

Observers will be watching if China aims for ambitious growth targets despite struggling to lift domestic consumption, and will pore over its new Five Year Plan to understand Xi Jinping's roadmap for the country.

Looming over the event are the recent purges of high-level military officials who have been dismissed as part of Xi's long-running anti-corruption campaign.

Here's what you need to know about the gathering.

The term refers to two different meetings.

The first is that of the advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which begins on Wednesday. It's 2,000-plus members are drawn from various sectors, and not just the Communist Party.

Its discussions offer insight into key policy debates, but it has no legislative power.

That technically rests with the National People's Congress or NPC, which will convene on Thursday.

Although its extensive authority includes making laws, amending the constitution and approving state budgets, it functions as little more than a rubber-stamp parliament, approving decisions made behind closed doors by the Communist Party.

Established in 1954, the NPC meets only once a year. Some 3,000 delegates from all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities and branches of the government, including the armed forces, will be in Beijing to attend the NPC.

Most of them are party members or government officials, and they each hold office for a term of five years.

Real influence lies within a smaller standing committee elected from congress delegates, which meets every couple of months.

The current standing committee comprises 175 members and is chaired by Zhao Leji, who is also part of the Communist Party's politburo standing committee – China's equivalent of a cabinet.

In short, no.

But that does not mean it is not important to watch for those who want to understand where China is heading.

Although it is a highly choreographed event featuring party-approved speeches and media conferences with questions screened beforehand, these messages still offer clues about the Party's goals and ambitions for China. And a rare glimpse into the workings of its government.

In the decades gone by, when the Communist Party initiated market reforms to open up the economy, its intentions came through at these annual meetings; the same can be said for when Xi began to expand greater state control over the economy.

In addition to economic policies, past reports have included a range of goals, from China's campaign to improve sanitary conditions as well as calls to boost the country's soft power.

From electric vehicles and solar panels to humanoid robots and AI apps, China's industrial and technological footprint has expanded at breathtaking speed in recent years. These developments follow a state-driven road map to transform the country's status from the world's factory floor to a global tech powerhouse.

This did not come about as an accident, but rather follows a deliberate government strategy. This became clear in the language used at previous NPCs, so analysts will be watching this year's congress for any clues as to what comes next.

What may sound like small policy shifts in China can drive ripples, eventually creating tidal waves across the globe. While the speeches may seem long and dreary, they contain points of emphasis which may show, for example, greater focus and financial support for specific industries.

Moreover, this year's NPC comes as world leaders appear to be seeking a steadier relationship with Beijing, given how unpredictable the second Trump presidency has been.

Western leaders, including British PM Keir Starmer and Canada's Mark Carney, have been making a beeline for Beijing in recent months.

On the table this year is an "ethnic unity" law, which human rights monitors warn will be used to further entrench repression of minority groups.

It seeks to elevate the importance of Mandarin at the expense of other minority languages, even as officials in Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia have already significantly reduced education in local languages.

It also encourages intermarriage between the Han Chinese majority and ethnic minorities, and bans any acts seen as damaging to "ethnic unity". According to the draft legislation, parents and guardians are required to "educate and guide minors to love the Chinese Communist Party".

The congress is also set to approve the Ecological and Environmental Code which covers pollution control, ecological protection and low-carbon development, among other aspects.

The main event at the NPC is the Government Work Report delivered by the premier, which reviews the previous year's performance and sets the policy agenda and economic targets for the year ahead.

The report will contain this year's economic growth target. In the last few years the target has been "around 5%". Anything lower than this signals a greater push for slower but better-quality growth in China.

This year's NPC is also significant because delegates will approve the next Five Year Plan, the blueprint that China will follow between 2026 and 2030.

This document will give the world a better idea of Beijing's longer-term economic goals, especially when it comes to the high-tech and renewable energy sectors, and its plans to boost sluggish domestic consumption.

China watchers will be looking out for empty seats at the congress. Delegates' absence from a major political gathering like this is sometimes a signal that they are in trouble.

Xi has already removed many officers in the upper levels of the military in recent months, including nine who lost their NPC delegate status last week and three who lost their CPPCC delegate status this week.

Officials in many other sectors have "disappeared" too, but the People's Liberation Army has seen the most removals and resignations across all NPC delegations this term.