China's leaders vow to 'resolve risks' in economy as key meet ends


BEIJING — China's leadership vowed Thursday to "resolve risks" plaguing the economy, state media said, but were yet to offer any concrete steps to pull the country out of its financial woes.


The world's second-largest economy is grappling with a property debt crisis, weakening consumption, and an ageing population.
All eyes were on how this week's Communist Party conference in Beijing, attended by President Xi Jinping, might tackle the country's deepening economic malaise.


But few new policies were announced as the meeting wrapped up Thursday, with state news agency Xinhua saying they had instead "adopted a resolution on further deepening reform".


They also agreed to "actively expand domestic demand", state media reported, after data this week showed retail sales — a key gauge of consumption — rose just two per cent in June.


They further agreed to "prevent and resolve risks in key areas such as real estate, (and) local government debt", Xinhua said.
Top officials promised to "give fuller play to the role of market mechanisms, create a fairer and more dynamic market environment".


But they also said they would "make up for market failures" and "smooth the circulation of the national economy".
China posted on Monday lower-than-expected growth, with official statistics showing the economy grew by just 4.7 per cent in the second quarter of the year.


It represented the slowest rate of expansion since early 2023, when China was emerging from a crippling zero-COVID policy that strangled growth.


Analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected 5.1 per cent.
Beijing has said it is aiming for five per cent growth this year — enviable for many Western countries but a far cry from the double-digit expansion that for years drove the Chinese economy.


But the economic uncertainty is also fuelling a vicious cycle that has kept consumption stubbornly low.


Among the most urgent issues facing the economy are the beleaguered property sector, which long served as a key engine for growth but is now mired in debt, with several top firms facing liquidation.


With the country facing those headwinds, this week's meeting resolved to "strengthen guidance of public opinion and effectively prevent and resolve ideological risks", according to state media.


Officials also formally removed ex-foreign minister Qin Gang from the ruling Communist Party's highest decision-making body, and "confirmed" the party's decision to expel former defence minister Li Shangfu.
Both officials disappeared from the public eye last year after just a few months on the job.