Beijing (AFP) – China’s ruling Communist Party said Thursday the country has to “vigorously boost consumption” and “consolidate national security” in the next five years, state media reported, as a key gathering concluded in Beijing. The four days of closed-door meetings began on Monday and involved high-ranking officials discussing long-term strategies for the 15th Five-Year Plan, which starts next year. The talks come at an uncertain time for the world’s second-largest economy, beset by sluggish domestic spending, a protracted crisis in the property sector, and a turbulent trade war with the United States.
As the gathering ended on Thursday, leaders vowed to strive for “rapid economic development.” “Efforts must be made to vigorously boost consumption, expand effective investment, and resolutely eliminate bottlenecks,” said a readout published by state news agency Xinhua. China’s economy has failed to fully rebound post-pandemic, with official data on Monday showing that it expanded 4.8 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, the slowest growth since the same period last year.
“In terms of boosting consumption, it’s no surprise that it now carries greater weight as a driver of domestic demand,” said Yue Su from the Economist Intelligence Unit. “We can…expect investment to focus more on consumption-related sectors and activities, such as improved urban planning, public services, and elderly care,” she added. Observers were closely watching this week’s gathering of the Central Committee — an elite body with around 200 members and 170 alternates — for signs of the government’s core policy objectives. The next five-year plan, which like its predecessors will encompass political, economic, social, and environmental goals, will provide a roadmap through to 2030 and is expected to be approved in March.
“What stands out is first and foremost continuity,” said the National University of Singapore’s Bert Hofman of the readout. “New development pattern, high-quality growth, technological self-sufficiency — all were prominent in the 14th Plan.” He noted, though, there were some “important nuances.” For example, “in the section on domestic demand: before the focus was on supply creating demand, now it starts with demand creating supply.”
China’s leaders also vowed on Thursday to solidify national security, according to Xinhua. The country must “dare to fight and be good at fighting, and bravely face major tests of high winds and waves and even perilous situations,” the readout said, without specifying details. As China’s military might has grown over the last few decades, tensions with the United States and others in the Asia-Pacific region have risen. China insists self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory, and has threatened to seize the democratic island by force. Several countries are ensnared in longstanding territorial disputes with Beijing in the contested South China Sea.
The military has been the subject of a sweeping graft purge recently, with nine top army officials expelled for having “seriously violated” discipline last week. On Thursday, Zhang Shengmin, a general in Beijing’s secretive Rocket Force, was named as the replacement vice chair of the powerful Central Military Commission, one of the country’s top military posts.
Leaders also vowed to strengthen environmental efforts. China is the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases but is also a global renewable energy powerhouse. “We must continue to deepen pollution prevention…accelerate the development of a new energy system, actively and steadily advance and achieve carbon peak and accelerate the formation of a green production and lifestyles,” the readout said. Beijing issued in September its first-ever absolute targets for cutting planet-warming gases. By 2035, China will reduce economy-wide emissions by 7–10 percent relative to the year of the country’s peak emissions, believed to be 2025.
© 2024 AFP
