Market Views: What do the “Two Sessions” say about China?

China's tightly-managed economy rarely misses its GDP growth target. That all changed with Covid-19. In the first quarter of this year, China's economy contracted 6.8% year-on-year - its worst GDP performance in over 40 years.  Domestically, unemployment has soared as lockdowns curtailed consumption, exports and tourism. A bigger challenge is the country's intensifying tensions with the US, which will likely get worse ahead of the US elections in November. A drawn-out trade war …