China vows to push for high-quality development as ‘top mission’
PRESIDENT Xi Jinping vowed to make high-quality development the guiding force of the world’s No 2 economy, as he mapped out his long-term vision to propel China forward as it battles a domestic slowdown and trade tensions with the United States.
The ruling Communist Party pledged to deepen supply-side reforms to generate new momentum for growth, in a statement on Thursday (Jul 18) marking the close of a conclave that has often heralded major policy shifts.
Officials reaffirmed their determination to hitting this year’s development goals, which include an annual growth target of about 5 per cent – a commitment that comes days after second-quarter data disappointed.
“High-quality development is the top mission of building a modern socialist country,” the official Xinhua News Agency said. That vague slogan is typically used to signal the Chinese leader’s desire to build a society driven by advanced technology that gives Beijing resilience against US trade curbs.
The twice-a-decade meeting’s emphasis on high-quality growth implied “no expansionary policy to promote the quantity of growth”, said Ken Cheung, chief Asian FX strategist at Mizuho Bank. “The meeting touched the tasks of preventing and resolving the property market risks, without making any surprising measures to stabilise the housing market,” he added.
The ruling party normally issues a more detailed report several days after concluding the Third Plenum. Specific policies taking cues from the meeting are more likely to come from a sit-down of China’s 24-man Politburo later this month, which typically focuses on economic issues for the year.
While the communique suggested officials are continuing to bet on advanced manufacturing to power the Chinese economy, they also committed to efforts to “actively expand domestic demand”, addressing an issue economists have highlighted as needing greater attention. No specifics were given for that goal.
Xi last used the Third Plenum to map out his economic vision for China in 2013, when he announced a loosening of the country’s one-child policy at the gathering. The previous huddle in 2018 broke with tradition by focusing on personnel shifts.
The plenum also announced plans to:
- Actively expand domestic demand
- Deepen reforms of science and technology
- Accelerate new dynamics in foreign trade
- Prevent and resolve risks in the real estate sector
- Deepen reform of the financial and taxation systems
- Improve macroeconomic policy adjustments
- Create a fairer, more dynamic market environment
- Improve national security mechanisms
- Deepen reform of medical and healthcare systems
This meeting comes as policymakers struggle to arrest a deepening property crisis that is rippling through the economy. Top leaders are also grappling with a growing international backlash to a surge in cheap Chinese exports, a rare area of robust growth that has helped offset slumping consumption.
While expectations of a policy pivot or major stimulus package were low going into the meeting, economists said that the plenum should tackle the real estate downturn, technology self-sufficiency and local fiscal strains in the medium- to long-term.
China’s growth slowed more than expected in data released on Monday, putting pressure on policymakers to step up support for boosting domestic demand.
Underscoring the weak confidence caused by the years-long property crisis, the country last quarter extended its longest slide of economy-wide prices since 1999.
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