The 2020 National People's Congress was the Third Plenary Session of the 13th National People's Congress. It was held from Friday 22 to 28 May, concurrently with the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

(CPPCC) as part of the annual

Two Sessions The Two Sessions (NPC & CPPCC National Committee annual sessions), or in Chinese ''Lianghui'' is a common Mandarin Chinese abbreviation for a pair of organizations which have close relations. In the Chinese government, the term refers to the ...

. It was originally scheduled to be held in March 2020 at the

Great Hall of the People The Great Hall of the People is a state building located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the ruling Chinese Co ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China, however due to the global

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, it had been delayed until May. Due to the ongoing health crisis, it was shorter than the usual weeklong affair. The thousands of deputies in attendance were all tested for the coronavirus and isolated ahead of the event, and most events involving reporters took place through online conferencing. Premier Li Keqiang did not announce a growth target for the Chinese economy for the year when he delivered the Standing Committee's work report to the NPC delegates on Friday morning. The NPC announced an increase of 6.6 per cent in its military spending. The Congress voted on an anti-sedition law in response to the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, thereby bypassing the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LegCo) is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under China's " one country, two systems" constitutional arrangement, and is the power centre of Hong Kong ...

. The law banned sedition, secession and subversion of the government in Beijing. In response, United States Department of State spokeswoman

Morgan Ortagus Morgan Deann Ortagus (born July 10, 1982) is an American television commentator, financial analyst, and political advisor who served as spokesperson for the United States Department of State from 2019 to 2021. She previously held government posi ...

warned that "any effort to impose national security legislation that does not reflect the will of the people of Hong Kong" would be met with international condemnation. The US State Department' comments were countered by China, who decried any attempt by the US to interfere with internal Chinese affairs.

References

{{reflist National People's Congress, 2020 National People's Congress, 2020 National People's Congresses COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China National People's Congress, 2020 National People's Congress, 2020