Beijing's leaders pledge to maintain growth and push on with reforms

The Beijing leadership has vowed at a key annual conference to maintain reasonable and healthy economic growth next year while controlling local debt risks as the government deepens fiscal and financial reforms.

The four-day Central Economic Work Conference, which lasted longer than usual and ended yesterday, stressed the nation still faced "downward pressures" next year while uncertainties in the global economic situation remained great.

The mainland experienced its slowest annual economic growth since 1999 last year.

The conference was attended by President Xi Jinping and all Politburo members, as well as leaders from government departments and local authorities.

The post-conference statement mentioned that a high-level panel to push for reforms will be overseen by the Politburo and its standing committee.

At the local level, all regional authorities were also urged to set up their own institutions to oversee reforms, the statement issued after the meeting said.

Such a framework to oversee reform was decided at the party Central Committee's third plenum last month, where leaders vowed to set up a top decision-making system to co-ordinate actions between different government agencies and local authorities in order to resolve any possible conflicts of interest.