China plenum expected to launch big reform agenda

CHINA'S top party members will meet behind closed doors in Beijing for a four-day meeting from tomorrow where they will craft guidelines for the country's future economic path which could well be, in President Xi Jinping's words, more than just a "master plan" but a "profound revolution".

The third full meeting or plenum of the party's Central Committee will see the 376 most influential members try and reach a consensus on China's most touchy issues at a time when the economy is at a crossroad.

Anticipation is at its highest. Party leaders have historically used the occasion to launch new ideas or reforms. In 1978, Deng Xiaoping, then the country's new president, thrust China onto the path of double digit-growth with the "opening up and reform policy".