China’s Communist Party begins key meeting to deepen reforms

China’s Communist Party has begun a key four-day meeting to discuss how to deepen reforms, Kyodo News reported, as the world’s second-largest economy faces challenges including a prolonged property crisis and population decline.

The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee, which brings together top party officials, is also expected to set China’s medium- and long-term economic policy.

China’s leader Xi Jinping delivered a work report and explained a draft decision of the committee on “comprehensively deepening” reforms and advancing “Chinese modernization,” a development model different from that of Western nations.

Meanwhile, China’s economic growth in the April-June period slowed to 4.7 percent in real terms from a year earlier, official data showed on Monday, and the result is likely to fuel calls for more stimulus at the third plenary session.

The Communist Party is expected to release the outcome of the meeting in a statement on Thursday, the final day of the plenary session. Historically, the third plenum has served as a springboard for major changes in China’s development policies, including the adoption of the reform and opening-up policy in 1978.

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However, some observers have questioned the direction of the opening-up policy, as in recent years the top leaders of the Asian power have advocated greater state control of the economy and the importance of ensuring national security.

The trend can be seen as a retreat from the party’s decision at the third plenum of the 18th Central Committee in 2013 that China will push ahead with reforms to ensure the market plays a “decisive” role in resource allocation, observers say.

In addition to economic issues, the plenum could also decide on a personnel reshuffle following scandals involving senior party officials. At the end of June, the party decided to expel two former defence ministers, Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, for serious disciplinary and legal violations in corruption cases.

The Communist Party typically holds seven plenums in a five-year cycle. The third plenum following a twice-a-decade party congress in 2022 was expected to be held last fall.

The apparent delay in the session has raised speculation about difficulties in formulating policies to deal with economic challenges such as the housing crisis.