Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to further enhance the Communist Party’s control over the economy as he chaired the meeting of a top policy-making body to discuss key development strategies.
(Bloomberg) — Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to further enhance the Communist Party’s control over the economy as he chaired the meeting of a top policy-making body to discuss key development strategies.
The Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission should “continue playing its role in setting major economic policies,” he said at the group’s first meeting on Friday following the October leadership reshuffle, according to state broadcaster China Central Television. Xi, who heads the commission, vowed to strengthen and improve the party’s “centralized and unified leadership” of economic work.
Xi has ramped up a drive to deepen the party’s influence in all walks of life since he started a precedent-breaking third term, setting up power committees to oversee everything from financial markets to technology development. He’s also pushing for high-quality growth that prioritizes boosting domestic demand, achieving tech self-reliance and upgrading the industrial sector as economic expansion slows, population falls, and tensions with the US escalate.
Top officials at the meeting on Friday promised to accelerate the building of a “full-fledged, advanced and secure” modern industrial system to maintain strategic advantages in future development and international competition, according to the statement. Ensuring industrial security should be “the priority of priorities,” and more efforts should be made to achieve core technology breakthroughs, it said.
Premier Li Qiang attended the meeting as the commission’s deputy director. Xi’s chief of staff Cai Qi and Ding Xuexiang, a vice premier, were also present as members of the group, CCTV reported, citing a statement issued after the meeting.
The authorities will also improve their population policy to build a “birth-friendly” society, it said. Policy support will be offered to significantly reduce household costs of raising children as officials aim to keep an “appropriate level of birth rate and the overall size of population,” it added.
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