Chinese President Xi Jinping walks back to his seat after being re-elected for a third term during a National People's Congress session in March 2023. Photo: AFP / Noel Celis
Thousands of political and community delegates from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau gather in Beijing for roughly two weeks in March each year to review priorities, ratify legislation and approve budgets.
Although the National People's Congress (NPC) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) hold their annual meetings in the capital in the same March window, the members of each organ convene separately and, as a result, the gathering is widely known as the "Two Sessions".
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference gathering opens in Beijing on Wednesday, with the National People's Congress opening a day later.
Who is involved?
The National People's Congress is China's unicameral legislative body, comprising nearly 3000 delegates that are selected through a tiered electoral system.
It has no direct equivalent political organ in New Zealand.
While New Zealand's Parliament would come closest, the comparison has limitations.
New Zealand's Parliament is a competitive arena in which policies are publicly contested, amended, delayed or defeated.
In contrast, the NPC typically approves legislation presented by the Chinese Communist Party.
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is essentially an advisory body, bringing together more than 2100 political delegates, business leaders, academics and sectoral representatives that are selected through a nomination and consultation process coordinated by the Communist Party.
New Zealand has no single institutional equivalent of the CPPCC.
Elements of the advisory body resemble select committee hearings, advisory councils, stakeholder consultations or national forums for sectoral input.
However, clear differences exist.
In New Zealand, such entities operate within a competitive democratic structure. In contrast, the CPPCC operates in a Communist Party-led political framework.
What to watch this year
At first glance, the Two Sessions policy discussions may appear distant from everyday life in New Zealand.
Yet China remains New Zealand's largest trading partner, and so whatever political direction is signalled by the high-level meetings in March each year typically has trickle-down economic consequences.
Two-way trade between the two countries exceeded $40 billion in the year ending June 2025, representing more than one-fifth of New Zealand's total exports and 16 percent of its imports.
New Zealand's export basket is concentrated in dairy, meat, forestry and fruit products, with tourism and international education comprising key import pipelines.
Such sectors can eventually be affected by Two Sessions decisions that ultimately filter down to export prices, business confidence, currency movements and employment in sectors that are exposed to trade.
The high-level meetings in Beijing provide an opportunity for China to formally articulate its national priorities, making them easier to interpret.
Analysts in Wellington will therefore be keeping a close eye on any policy pronouncements that could influence export outlook, market access, regulation and investment.
Anything else?
China experts also typically keep an eye on any official growth targets that are announced at the meetings as well as the country's fiscal stance.
Debate continues over whether China will maintain a growth target of around 5 percent in 2026 or adjust it to a range closer to 4.5-5 percent, according to media reports.
Higher growth targets, combined with supportive policy measures, could bolster domestic demand for imported food and commodities, with New Zealand exporters poised to benefit.
Analysts also expect the Two Sessions meetings to signal an expansionary fiscal policy, with a projected deficit ratio of around 4 percent of gross domestic product or higher.
Fiscal support that stimulates domestic household consumption could also bolster imported products such as dairy and meat.
Conversely, fiscal support that stimulates domestic industrial growth may alter import demand and heighten trade tensions.
Eyes will also be on the draft outline of the next five-year plan, which spans 2026-30.
A strong emphasis on technological self-reliance and domestic industrial growth in the draft could reshape the global trade environment.
Conversely, greater emphasis on domestic household consumption could spur demand for imported food products, which could benefit New Zealand exporters depending on future policy settings and market conditions.
