Update | Communist Party's Yu Zhengsheng vows 'unprecedented' reforms
Plenum will tackle economic and social changes, Politburo Standing Committee member says
A top Communist Party leader has promised "unprecedented" economic and social reforms at the party's highly awaited plenary meeting next month, state media reported yesterday.
Yu Zhengsheng, the fourth-ranked member in the elite Politburo Standing Committee, said the closed-door meeting would "principally explore the issue of deep and comprehensive reforms".
"The reforms this time will be broad, with major strength, and will be unprecedented," he said, according to Xinhua. "Inevitably they will strongly push forward profound transformations in the economy, society and other spheres."
Yu's comments are among the first from top leaders about the plenum, where President Xi Jinping is expected to press for greater economic reforms. The broad reform agenda is expected to steer the world's second-largest economy, which is experiencing slowing growth, from a reliance on debt-fuelled investment to a more balanced model driven more by consumption, services and innovation.
The meeting of the elite 200-member Central Committee will be its third since a leadership transition last year.
Historically, Central Committee third plenary meetings have served as a springboard for key economic reforms. Political reform is not expected to be a major point of discussion.