The two sessions reflect a bigger picture

During the ongoing annual sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, China watchers scrutinize them all - the official speeches, press conferences, policy announcements, sideline comments, personnel positioning or actions. How is the economy tracking? New policies? Any surprises? What's "in the air"?

Personally, I'm watching five areas: commitment to economic reform, political governance, intensity of social concerns, moves with respect to senior personnel, and relative importance of international affairs.

On economic reform, the headliner is an overarching policy called "supply-side structural reform" that tackles deep-rooted problems, especially industrial overcapacity and excessive corporate debt. What are those mysterious "interest groups" that oppose these essential reforms? Perhaps the biggest challenge is how to implement supply-side structural reform while maintaining an adequate GDP growth rate.