On Monday, Beijing scrapped a closing press conference for its annual “Two Sessions” meeting of its rubber-stamp parliament, pausing a three-decade long annual tradition for China’s premier (the No. 2 guy). That means the foreign press will lose a rare chance to speak to Premier Li Qiang, one of China’s most powerful people.
But it also robs Li himself of a platform that other Chinese leaders have used to build their own brands. Li’s predecessor, Li Keqiang, earned himself the moniker “the people’s premier” after he railed against pervasive rural poverty during the 2020 Two Sessions presser.
The opacity reflects what Eurasia Group called "Maximum Xi” in its top risks report last year, as President Xi Jinping reacts to increasing challenges by centralizing his power even more.
"Under Maximum Xi, what Li Qiang might have said in the closing presser wouldn't matter anyway,” says Lauren Gloudeman, a China expert at Eurasia Group. “He was only going to say what was approved."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with President of the European Council António Luís Santos da Costa, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi, India, on Jan. 27, 2026.
On Tuesday, the world’s largest single market and the world’s most populous country cinched a deal that will slash or reduce tariffs on the vast majority of the products they trade.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has repeatedly tussled with US President Donald Trump, whereas Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has tried to placate him. The discrepancy raises questions about the best way to approach the US leader.
10,000: The number of Hamas officers that the militant group reportedly wants to incorporate into the US-backed Palestinian administration for Gaza, in the form of a police force.
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