Then there’s China’s top Communist Party Central Committee, comprising more than 300 members, which holds seven plenary meetings during each five year term. Within this committee is the politburo of 24 people and within that is the seven member standing committee that includes President Xi.
The plenum is held every five years and this time as always, the focus will be on the goal of rekindling economic growth.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, growth was down to 4.7% so far this year vis a vis 5.3% last year and the property sector continues to shrink reporting a 25% fall in the sales of new commercial properties.
The GDP target is 5% growth but that looks difficult given the above.
The silver lining is the trade surplus of nearly $100 billion accounting for goods shipped to customers abroad, but the downside here is the sentiment worldwide in favour of placing curbs on the entry of Chinese goods.
All the more reason, therefore for the party brass to want to boost consumption at home.
Although President Xi Jinping has reportedly called for “major” reform, the sense is there may not be any great reform moves since it would raise question marks about the party’s competence. Rather, there may be tweaks here and there primarily to encourage high tech manufacturing and bring some relief to Chinese households.
A report in the People’s Daily appeared to confirm this when it said “Reform is not about changing direction and transformation is not about changing colour.”
China watchers say it will be more about debating and discussing ideas for the long term, also about structural reforms rather than short-term policy adjustments.
It’s also clear that the authorities are firm on pushing the economy more towards high technology and innovation besides of course boosting domestic consumption.
But they will have to infuse new confidence in the property sector which, at one point, was the main driver of the economy. Pressure on developers is being eased and local governments are being advised to buy unsold homes.
But local government debt is also an issue and there is a need to cultivate sustainable sources of revenue. There is talk of taxes on consumption, on personal income or property.
