China holds major financial conference as leaders aim to get economy back on track
China’s leaders are expected to search for ways to mend the country's fractured property market, create jobs for millions of unemployed youths and spur faster growth in a meeting that reportedly began Monday in Beijing
BANGKOK — China’s leaders are expected to search for ways to mend the country’s fractured property market, create jobs for millions of unemployed youths and spur faster growth in a meeting that reportedly began Monday in Beijing.
The National Financial Work Conference, usually held twice a decade, is expected to further fortify leader Xi Jinping’s control of the country’s $61 trillion financial sector. It follows the announcement last week of plans to issue 1 trillion yuan ($330 billion) in bonds for infrastructure projects and disaster prevention.
By dipping deeper into deficit, the government is looking to counter a sharp slowdown in housing construction. Economists say the challenge lies in finding ways to ensure sustainable, balanced growth while unwinding massive debt held by real estate developers, local governments and regional banks.
The gathering, held behind closed doors and without any formal public announcement Monday, will tackle such long-term reforms, Takehiko Nakao, former president of the Asian Development Bank, said in an interview with China’s CGTN network while attending an international financial conference in southern China's Guangzhou.
“Overall, the financial sector in China has made progress but at this moment they face challenges,” said Nakao. While longer-term reforms are likely on the agenda, he suggested that more immediate problems such as the real estate sector are a priority.
The last financial work conference was held in 2017, but disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic
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