China Two Sessions: premier Li Qiang will not speak to press in break with tradition

China's major annual political gathering has begun in Beijing, to discuss and approve the ruling Chinese Communist party's policy direction for the year. But amid major economic headwinds, decreasing transparency on government indicators, and growing concern among international business and investors, on Monday it was revealed the country's leading economics official, premier Li Qiang, would no longer meet with or speak to the press. The Two Sessions are so named for the near-simultaneous gathering of two political bodies: China's rubber-stamping parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), and the political consultative body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Attended by…