Source: CCTV America
Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment, spoke on the highlights coming out of the Chinese Communist Party's National People’s Congress (NPC). Paal explained that the driving motivation behind the NPC’s decision to set the growth target at 7.5 percent is their desire to guarantee full employment. He added that the goal of 12.2 percent growth in defense spending makes China’s military the fastest growing in the world, although that number is somewhat overstated by not accounting for inflation. He also noted that shutting down coal burning power plants and getting high emission cars off the road are positive steps but China still has a long way to go in addressing its pollution challenges. Although he believes that the forced labor camps will be shut down as announced in the Third Plenum Decision document, he stated that other similar practices may take their place.