Before the People’s Congress of the Communist Party: “You always have to work”

China’s weakening economy is likely to be the main topic at the National People’s Congress in Beijing starting tomorrow. The growth goals that the leadership praises themselves for do not appeal to ordinary workers.

A day labor market in the city of Linquan in central China’s Anhui region. Shortly after 7 a.m., about 15 men stand on the side of the road across from the hospital, waiting for someone to use their services. 43-year-old Sun Xuedong can lay tiles, paint walls and build walls. It comes to the equivalent of around 1,000 euros per month. This makes the construction worker one of the higher earners here.

But he’s not getting as many orders right now: “Fewer people are coming here now with job offers. And the work is harder than it used to be,” he says. “If something isn’t done well, people are always looking for faults and don’t want to pay for something.”

According to official figures, gross domestic product grew by 5.2 percent last year. The People’s Republic has thus achieved its economic growth goal, but many people have not felt any impact. The state and party leadership in Beijing also knows this, and starting tomorrow the approximately 3,000 delegates to the National People’s Congress will meet again for their annual meeting. They waved through the government’s decisions for almost a week.

“At the expense of what people want”

Jacob Gunter from the China think tank Merics in Berlin doesn’t expect any big surprises. Rather, things have been moving consistently in one direction for years: securing the power of state and party leader Xi Jinping. It’s not just short- and medium-term economic issues that are crucial here: “It’s also about the bigger picture. And that’s a bitter pill that has to be swallowed in order to tackle the things that the government sees as a threat to the long-term stability and resilience of the party-state. And that comes at the expense of what people want and expect.”

Above all, people in China expect their prosperity to increase. Many people are worse off than during the boom times of the last few decades. At the start of the meeting tomorrow, Prime Minister Li Qiang will present his work report. He will also announce what economic growth the communist leadership expects for this year.

A 65-year-old improves his pension

At the day labor market in Linquan City, most people only care about how much money they bring home at the end of the day. A 65-year-old who doesn’t want to give his name comes every day with his cargo tricycle and offers transport services to supplement his small state pension. He charges the equivalent of six euros an hour for his work.

“It’s enough to feed the family, but there’s nothing left,” he says. “If there is little work, I might only work half an hour or an hour or two a day. Whether you work in a big city or here: hard work is always rewarded. No matter where you are, you always have to work. “