HEATED debate has erupted at the annual Beidaihe meeting of top Chinese leaders over the pace of reform, the anti-corruption campaign and how to proceed with the controversial austerity programme.
Regional officials were putting pressure on Beijing to relax credits and give them greater authority to try out new reform initiatives, Chinese sources said.
Although not openly lobbying, the local cadres are also pushing Beijing to call a halt to the anti-corruption drive.
However, sources said senior leaders including Vice-Premier Zhu Rongji want to carry on with the programme and are unlikely to budge.
The debates coincided with the recent reappearance of a senior party leader who has been relatively inactive in the past few months.
A member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo and Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Li Ruihuan, has re-emerged after disappearing for almost two months.