President Jiang Zemin will deliver an important speech at next month's annual economic work conference in which he will sum up China's reform experience over the past 20 years and set strategic agendas for the next century, sources said.
They also said Premier Zhu Rongji would review the economy this year and outline his plans for 1999.
Maintaining a 'forward but steady' development strategy and 'moderate growth rate' were likely to be two main themes for economic reform next year.
The sources said it would be different from the 'relatively high-speed growth' direction adopted in last year's conference. The shift was notable from the fact that President Jiang had avoided the growth rate issue since the summer.
Instead of pursuing a high-speed growth rate, top leaders were emphasising the importance of 'sustainable development'.
The Asian financial crisis, the summer floods and less-than-satisfactory results of the fiscal policy undertaken in the first half of this year were what motivated leaders to adjust their policy direction, said the sources.
They were also alarmed by the rising budget deficit and its impact on the economy.