Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda.
Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted.
The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people.
Photo: AP
Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. “We will ... form a more market-oriented, legal and international business environment.”
“China’s door will only open wider and wider, and will never be closed,” he added.
Xi has touted the promise of significant reform several times this year and the government has already enacted measures in key sectors such as real estate to try to address critical issues.
On Thursday, it was announced that the delayed Third Plenum — a meeting historically watched for signals on economic policy direction — would take place in Beijing in the middle of next month.
The key meeting of top officials, originally expected last year, is highly anticipated in the hopes it might resolve the uncertainty that has weighed on China’s economy.
The People’s Bank of China later yesterday pledged to “promote the implementation of the financial policies and measures already issued, and push for the stable and healthy development of the real-estate market.”
It would “promote the accelerated construction of a new model for real estate development,” the central bank said in a statement.
ESCALATING TENSIONS: The US called for restraint and meaningful dialogue after Beijing threatened Taiwanese independence advocates with the death sentence The US on Monday condemned China’s “escalatory and destabilizing language and actions” toward Taiwan after Beijing last week announced new guidelines to punish supporters of Taiwanese independence. Asked about the guidelines, which included the death sentence for “diehard” independence advocates, US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said: “We strongly condemn the escalatory and destabilizing language and actions from PRC [People’s Republic of China] officials.” “We continue to urge restraint and no unilateral change to the status quo,” he said at the press briefing. The US urges China to “engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan,” Miller said, adding that “threats and legal
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
WATER CONCERNS: The CWA encouraged people to conserve water, as fewer typhoons would bring less rain, and the plum rain season brought in only 60% of average rainfall About two to four typhoons are forecast to come close to Taiwan between now and November, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, as it also forecast that extreme heat would persist throughout the week, only dropping by 1°C after Friday. The number of typhoons is slightly lower than the average of three to five, reflecting a weakening El Nino weather pattern and the possibility of a La Nina pattern approaching, CWA Weather Forecast Center Director Chen Yi-liang (陳怡良) told a news conference in Taipei. While typically fewer typhoons develop under such conditions, their routes would be more likely to pass near