The Chinese Communist Party is today to begin four days of key closed-door discussions, formulating core economic strategy for coming years as growth flags and trade headwinds mount.
The gathering of the Central Committee would be crucial in determining policy objectives in the world’s second-largest economy.
Foreign media access to attending officials is highly restricted during the event, which typically opens and closes in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
Photo: AFP
The session would focus on proposals for the 15th five-year plan on economic and social development, state media said.
That plan, which covers the period from next year until 2030, would play a central role in the pursuit of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) core aims, including technological self-sufficiency, and military and economic might.
The plenum is scheduled to conclude on Thursday, after which authorities are expected to release a summary of major outcomes.
This month’s meeting comes at an uncertain time for the Chinese economy, beset by sluggish domestic spending, a protracted crisis in the property sector and a turbulent trade war with the US.
“While plenums generally attract less attention than other political events, it is during those plenums that major policies are discussed and being decided upon,” Rabobank senior China economist Teeuwe Mevissen said. “Given the sheer size of China’s economy, these decisions also impact the rest of the world.”
Typically, it is at the fifth plenum that officials chart the next five-year economic blueprint, but after an unexplained nine-month delay to the third plenum until July last year, that monumental task is now expected to fall on the upcoming conclave.
Experts have said that China must shift toward an economic model propelled more by domestic consumption as opposed to infrastructure investment and exports — long key drivers of growth.
Household demand has been sluggish, with official data showing that consumer prices fell again last month after reaching a half-year low in August.
Another prominent issue officials would likely be seeking to address at the plenum is industrial overcapacity, causing domestic gluts of cheap goods in certain sectors and exacerbating friction with trading partners.
Authorities are also due to announce closely watched economic figures for the third quarter.
Analysts forecast the data to show overall growth during the July-to-September period of 4.8 percent — the slowest in a year.
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