Nearly 3,000 delegates will gather on Tuesday for the annual National People’s Congress (NPC). The difficult economic situation will take center stage. However, few expect any significant reforms or stimulus programs. There have been fewer clear signals in the run-up to the NPC than there have been for a long time – and what is known points to continuity. The directives for the NPC are likely to be fuelled directly by the ideas of state and party leader Xi Jinping himself.