Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will not hold a press conference after the close of the annual parliamentary session this year, ending a tradition that has persisted for three decades, citing National People's Congress (NPC) spokesman Lu Qinjian on Monday, Reuters reported on Monday, writes UNN.
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Moreover, except in special circumstances, Li will also not hold such press conferences after each annual meeting for the remainder of the Chinese parliament's term ending in 2027, Lu Qinjian added.
The decision to cancel the premier's press conference was made because government ministers will hold more briefings on diplomacy, the economy and people's livelihoods during the week-long parliamentary session, Lu said.
The Prime Minister's annual meeting with the press used to be the culmination of a parliamentary meeting, because as the head of the State Council and the main person charged with managing the economy, his answers to journalists' questions about the economy were perceived as something more authoritative and having a broader perspective than those of the cabinet ministers.
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Since 1993, Chinese prime ministers have met with the media after the annual meeting of the National People's Congress, answering a wide variety of questions from Chinese and foreign journalists in press conferences broadcast live around the world.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, as China opened its economy to the rest of the world, it actively sought to clarify its policies in an effort to attract foreign investment and boost trade, the publication points out.
Political observers say the sudden decision not to hold such press conferences is a sign of the prime minister's diminishing authority under Xi Jinping as China's leader, and another sign that the world's second-largest economy may be moving toward an "era of isolation.
Wen-Ti Sun, a political scientist at the Australian National University, said the refusal of the prime minister's press conference was an attempt by Beijing to further control the situation in China.
That doesn't mean Xi doesn't trust Li Keqiang, the current prime minister, Sun said.
"This is consistent with their relationship with Xi playing the role of policy architect and Lee playing the loyal enforcer of Xi's policies. Voluntarily walking away from the limelight is an act of loyalty," Sun said.