China’s ‘Two Sessions’: Military Purge Overshadows Launch of New Five-Year Plan

China’s annual “Two Sessions” are set to open in early March, offering a critical glimpse into Beijing’s political priorities, economic direction and approach to Taiwan. This year’s meetings unfold amid exceptional uncertainty, following the dramatic purge of senior PLA leaders including Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia, raising questions about civil–military relations and internal stability. At the same time, China is entering its 15th Five-Year Plan period, with growth targets, defense spending, and industrial policy under intense scrutiny. How will Beijing balance political control, economic strain, and mounting external pressure from Washington? In this episode, we preview the Two Sessions, examine key political and economic signals to watch, and assess what shifts in rhetoric may reveal about China’s intentions toward Taiwan and the evolving US–China relationship. *Recorded on February 6, 2026 at 2pm Taiwan Standard Time Host: Wen-Ti SungProducer: Chinyeh Chiang Our guests: Titus Chen National Chengchi University Institute of International Relations Research Professor and Deputy DirectorWei-Feng Tzeng National Chengchi University Institute of International Relations Associate Research Fellow Chapters:00:00:00 – China Launches New 5-Year Plan amid Purges00:02:36 – China Loses Military Expertise in Latest Purges00:11:34 – Beijing’s Five-Year Plan Clings to 5% GDP Goal00:21:42 – Xi and Trump Discuss Taiwan on Phone Call#GovernmentWorkReport #EconomicGrothTarget #DefenseBudget #TaiwanPolicy #PLA #XiJinping #ZhangYouxia #LiuZhenli #JiangBin #ZhouXinmin #LuoQi #LiuCangli #ZhouChen #CentralMilitaryCommission #CMC #MilitaryPurge #ChinaPurge #PoliticalLoyalty #ChinaMilitary #CentralMilitaryCommission #RocketForce #AntiCorruption #TigersAndFlies #MilitaryModernization #ChinaDefense #DefenseBudget #ChinaEconomy #15thFiveYearPlan #5YearPlan #GDPGrowthTarget #5% #5Percent #ChinaDream #NewQualityProductiveForces #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #AIPlus #IoT #InternetofThings #HighTechIndustry #DomesticConsumption #RuralMarket #ChinaGrowth #NumberOneDocument #Agriculture #TaiwanStrait #TaiwanIssues #TaiwanAffairs #CrossStraitRelations #USChinaRelations #XiTrumpSummit #ArmSales #Geopolitics #ChinaForeignPolicy #InternationalAffairs #GlobalSecurity #ArtificialIntelligence #EVs #ElectricVehicles #Robotics #InternetOfThings #AerospaceChina #DefenseBudget #ChinaDream #EconomicMobilization #Technocrats #CentennialGoal #NDRC #NationalDevelopmentandReformCommission #TaiwanPlus #TaiwanTalks

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YNOT — Two Tigers Consulting From Building Bridges to Watching China About 15 years ago, I founded a small company called Two Tigers Consulting with a relatively simple idea: help American and Chinese businesses work together. At the time, China represented one of the greatest business opportunities in the world — a rapidly expanding economy, extraordinary manufacturing capabilities, and ambitious entrepreneurs eager to build relationships with American companies. Two Tigers Consulting was created to help bridge that gap. For a while, it worked. We attended trade shows, arranged meetings, and introduced companies across both cultures. But after one particularly promising trade show, several Chinese businesspeople we had met were reportedly arrested upon returning to China — apparently for traveling without proper authorization. That experience taught me something important: in China, being a successful entrepreneur doesn't necessarily mean being free to conduct business. As Xi Jinping consolidated power and the political environment shifted, we concluded the potential rewards of doing business in China no longer justified the risks. Rather than abandon our knowledge entirely, Two Tigers evolved into a platform for following, discussing, and analyzing developments inside China — its economy, political leadership, and increasingly complicated relationship with the United States. I want to make absolutely clear that I have tremendous respect for the Chinese people — their entrepreneurs, engineers, and workers are extraordinarily capable. But I also believe China's political system creates fundamental contradictions: enormous private fortunes can be accumulated, yet ultimate political authority remains firmly concentrated, making relationships based on mutual trust and predictable rules extremely difficult to sustain. Today, Two Tigers is an independent publication examining China's achievements, challenges, ambitions, and contradictions — where they intersect with the United States and the broader world. What began as a small business venture now attracts roughly 10,000 visits a day. Understanding China is no longer optional: what happens there affects businesses, economies, and people throughout the world. And that is why Two Tigers continues.

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