Xi Jinping urges ‘to the letter’ compliance as China’s economic recovery remains top concern
- Xi Jinping has called for officials to maintain discipline in policymaking as country hopes for stronger economic recovery in 2024
- Demand for following Communist Party’s instruction paired with appeal to ‘have courage’ in taking action
As China’s economic recovery looks to remain the country’s top political priority in 2024, President Xi Jinping called for rigid discipline in enacting policies, insisting on a “to the letter” approach during a speech to the country’s top economic and financial officials.
Cadres at all levels should fully understand the Communist Party’s decisions and arrangements, Xi said per the official Xinhua news agency, carrying them out “completely, accurately and comprehensively”.
Xi’s comments, seen in a report released in the wake of the two-day conference, offer essential guidance for policymakers – and for observers, clear signs the country’s top leader sees movement has been lacking.
“To put it more bluntly, it shows that [the top leadership] is not satisfied with some of the specific measures and the progress of policy implementation so far,” said Wang Zichen, research fellow at Centre for China and Globalisation.
Officials were also instructed to act “vigorously, resolutely and pragmatically” when implementing the central government’s policies, and to “have the courage” to take on difficult tasks.
“You must have the awareness to act immediately,” he was quoted as saying.
Ultimately the prerequisite for any action, Xi said, is to clearly understand “without distortion” the intentions of the party’s Central Committee and hew to them closely.
“Underdoing is a distortion, but overdoing is also a deviation,” the president said.
The Chinese leader also took on “formalism” and “bureaucratism” among government officials, calling them “stubborn and chronic diseases, like psoriasis”.
Along with local government debt and solvency issues with small banks, this problem was mentioned at the conference as a major risk facing the country.
“You cannot procrastinate, dragging on small things until they become big ones, and delaying big things until they explode,” Xi said.
Beijing has told the country’s mostly state-owned financial institutions to meet all “reasonable” funding needs from property firms, and quickened the pace of development in three major projects – emergency facilities, urban renewal and affordable housing – to offset the decline in commodity housing construction.
Policymakers also emphasised policy coordination during the two-day meeting, according to the official report. Particularly, they vowed to incorporate non-economic measures into the overall macroeconomic outlook.
In the past, some regulations have had negative impacts on market sentiment and near-term economic growth.
For example, to meet carbon reduction targets, some local governments would withhold power for manufacturing factories.
A to-do list is expected following the lengthy statement, when participating cadres return home and relay Xi’s message across the country – but more detailed growth targets will only be disclosed at the National People’s Congress in March.