Chinese Communist Party elite to tackle slower growth at annual plenum
China needs to pursue a more efficient, fairer, more sustainable and better-quality economic model, according to the Politburo
The ruling Communist Party's elite will meet in October to map out the next five-year plan for the country as the government grapples with slowing growth.
The announcement of the annual gathering of the party's Central Committee came after a Politburo meeting on Monday chaired by President Xi Jinping, state-run Xinhua said.
The Politburo said that as part of the 13th five-year plan period, which runs from 2016 to 2020, the mainland would have to find ways to deal with the "new normal" - marked by strategic development opportunities but also grave challenges, according to a China Central Television report on Monday night.
The country would need to overhaul macroeconomic regulations, keep growth at a medium-to-high level, and pursue a more efficient, fairer, more sustainable and better-quality economic model, according to the Politburo.
But Hu Xingdou, a professor of economics at the Beijing Institute of Technology, said it would be even more difficult for the mainland to maintain high growth in the next few years.
"A medium growth rate is already not bad, but the leadership may fear that slower economic growth could spark social unrest. In fact, a more balanced distribution of wealth is more important," Hu said.
The government expects the economy to grow by 7 per cent this year, the weakest rate in 25 years.
The mainland posted 7 per cent GDP growth in the second quarter, above the 6.8 to 6.9 per cent expansion that economists were anticipating.
Analysts said the government was expected to introduce stimulus measures to counter the ongoing downward pressures on the economy.
