Aerial photo taken on Feb. 19, 2021 shows containers at the automatic dock of the Qingdao port in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. (Photo by Zhang Jingang/Xinhua)

DUAL CIRCULATION

China's "dual circulation" development paradigm, in which domestic and overseas markets reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay, is expected to be another hot topic during the two sessions.

The 14th Five-Year Plan will further clarify how China will implement the dual circulation strategy and achieve high-quality development.

Unleashing domestic demand is crucial to driving China's growth, but this new development paradigm does not mean China will backpedal on its opening-up, officials and experts have said.

Dual circulation is seen as a strategic and win-win choice for China to reshape its international cooperation and new competitive edge, said Justin Yifu Lin, former World Bank chief economist and honorary dean of the National School of Development at Peking University.

SCI-TECH INNOVATION

Chinese authorities have said the country will uphold the central role of innovation in its modernization drive and implement an innovation-driven strategy for the next five to 15 years. It will strategically underpin its national development with self-reliance in science and technology.

"We still face challenges including a complex international environment, and there is still a supply gap in the overall innovation capacity," said Xue Lan, a professor from Tsinghua University.

Xue said the country's high-quality development must rely on sci-tech innovation.

National legislators and political advisors, many of whom are scientists and Big Tech executives, are expected to discuss the ways to build China's sci-tech strength and create an enabling environment for innovation.