Press Conference of the Premier of the State Council
The Press Conference of the Premier of the State Council, also known as the "Premier's Q&A with Journalists", is a meeting held by the Premier of the State Council, who serves as the head of government of China, with both domestic and foreign journalists. The Premier's press conference started in 1988 when Premier Li Peng accepted an invitation from the spokesperson of the 7th National People's Congress, Zeng Tao, to meet with journalists from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and foreign countries.
After 1993, the Premier's press conferences tended toward normalization. When Zhu Rongji became Premier in 1998, the press conference became a focal point of the National People's Congress sessions, and its duration extended to two and a half hours. During the tenures of Wen Jiabao and Li Keqiang as Premier of the State Council, a press conference was held each year after the closing of the National People's Congress sessions. When Li Qiang became Premier in 2023, only one press conference has been held since. Starting in 2024, it was officially announced that, barring special circumstances, there would no longer be Premier's press conferences in the years following the current National People's Congress session.
History
The tradition of holding a press conference with the premier traced back to 1988, after the first session of 7th National People's Congress, when Li Peng was invited to meet the press. It was also from that time onwards that China Central Television began to broadcast the press conference live.In April 1989, the Rules of Procedure of the National People's Congress, passed during the Second Session of the 7th National People's Congress, stipulated that the National People's Congress should be "openly held". It also specifically included "holding press conferences and receptions for journalists" as part of the proceedings of the National People's Congress.
In March 2012, Premier Wen Jiabao, in his final major press conference, emphasized the need for political openness and warned against the potential reoccurrence of historic tragedies like the Cultural Revolution after the fifth session of the 11th National People's Congress. His remarks were seen as an rebuke to Bo Xilai, known for his "red revival" campaign promoting Mao Zedong-era themes. Bo was fired as the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of Chongqing a day after the press conference.
On May 28, 2020, Premier Li Keqiang attended the press conference following the conclusion of the Third Session of the 13th National People's Congress. During the conference, he disclosed that currently in China, around 600 million people have a monthly income of only about 1000 yuan. This statement sparked widespread controversy, especially considering that 2020 was designated by the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping, as the year to eradicate absolute poverty.
On March 4, 2024, a spokesperson said China's Premier Li Qiang will not brief the media at the close of the Second Session of the 14th National People's Congress. After the cancellation of the premier's press conference was announced, some media outlets analyzed that this signaled the country's increasingly inward focus and centralized control, indicating Xi's gradual downgrading of the premier's role, thus bringing an end to the tradition of the premier's press conference at the Two Sessions that had been maintained for 30 years.