
HONG KONG -- China has officially delayed its biggest political gatherings of the year and further restricted the trading and consumption of wild animal meat as the nation battles a deadly coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 2,400 people and infected over 77,000.
The National People's Congress had been set to convene its annual session, which usually lasts about two weeks, in Beijing on March 5 and the new date has yet to be decided. While the legislature is subordinate to the ruling Chinese Communist Party, it ratifies the national budget and annual economic targets.