The Chinese President delivers a speech at an “important” closed meeting of the Communist Party leadership | news

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday delivered a speech on the first day of a closed “important meeting” of the leadership of the ruling Communist Party.

The party began closed meetings lasting 4 days on Monday in which senior officials participate to discuss long-term economic plans, according to what local media reported.

The meeting is scheduled to approve a draft plan that includes the party’s goals during the next five years.

At the beginning of the meeting on Monday, President Xi Jinping presented a work report and commented on the proposals of the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Analysts and investors are watching the meeting for indications about how the plan will balance economic and security interests, and to what extent the plan will call for structural changes to boost consumer spending and manage an aging society.

The talks come as uncertainty hangs over the world’s second economic power as a result of a slowdown in domestic spending, a prolonged crisis in the real estate sector, and a trade war with the United States.

Military power and technology

It is noteworthy that the party’s central committee includes 200 members and 170 alternative members, and this is the fourth time it has met within the framework of these meetings since it began its last term in 2022.

The plan, which covers the period from 2026 to 2030, will be the basic document outlining how to achieve the most prominent goals of Xi and the Party, including technological self-sufficiency and military and economic strength.

The meeting is scheduled to conclude next Thursday, with the authorities issuing a lengthy document containing its most prominent results.

The wide-ranging plan includes political, economic, social and environmental goals that are supposed to be approved by the Legislative Council last March.

Official data showed on Monday that the Chinese economy grew at an annual rate of 4.8% in the third quarter of the year, the slowest growth since the same period last year.