CHINA’S top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, will open its annual session today in Beijing.

The Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square will host the week-long parallel meetings of the conference and the National People’s Congress (NPC), which begins on Wednesday.

The conference is an advisory body with more than 2,000 members, part of the “united front” work that sees the party liaise with non-communist groups and individuals to advance its interests. 

The committee has no decision-making power but is able to make recommendations to the leadership of the Communist Party.

The congress meanwhile, with its 3000 members, is the world’s largest legislative body and is made up of part-time, unpaid representatives elected from all walks of life and hail from across the nation.

China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang will use his keynote speech to congress to outline the government’s economic priorities for the forthcoming year and annual targets for economic growth, unemployment, deficits and inflation. 

Analysts expect the economic growth target to be set at a healthy 5 per cent — the same as the previous two years. 

China faces uncertainty over trade relations after the United States engaged in a frenzied bout of tariff “diplomacy.” 

US President Donald Trump last month slapped a 10 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, with an additional 10 per cent coming into effect today. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping last Friday set the challenge for this week’s gatherings as he presided over a group study session of the political bureau of the Communist Party central committee.

Mr Xi called for continuous efforts to make the country safer, the society more orderly, the governance more effective, and the people more satisfied.

“China has already successfully written a new chapter marked by the twin miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability,” he said.