美国有线新闻 CNN 中国召开人大代表会议 聚焦政治和经济（在线收听）

A congressional meeting leads off this week's coverage, but it's not a gathering of just a few hundred lawmakers. The National People's Congress has thousands. It happens every year in China, the world's most populous country.

The 3,000 politicians who will be under one roof will be hearing about the communist government's priorities, its policies, its trade relationships, its territorial claims in the South China Sea, its plans for dealing with a new U.S. president.

China has the world's second largest economy. The congress will hear the government's plans for growing it and reducing poverty. Another topic, which we talked about last week, the calls for independence in the special autonomous region of Hong Kong. China's highest ranking politician said they would go nowhere. He also spoke out against independence calls in Taiwan.

The National People's Congress usually lasts a week or two. It doesn't have a specific schedule. And unlike the U.S. Congress, which is responsible for America's legislation, the Chinese Congress has less governmental power. It is required to, quote, "unswervingly adhere to the leaders of the Communist Party of China".