China’s Leaders Commit to Strengthening Reforms as Third Plenary Session Concludes

China’s Communist Party has announced the formation of a new committee aimed at “deepening reforms” to enhance the role of the free market in the economy. This decision came at the conclusion of a four-day policy summit known as the Third Plenary Session, which wrapped up on Tuesday.

Following the closed-door meeting, the official Xinhua state news agency reported that a decision was made on significant matters related to comprehensive reforms, emphasizing that the market will play a “decisive” role in resource allocation.

Xinhua highlighted that a key focus is managing the relationship between government and market, allowing the market to take a leading role in resource distribution while ensuring that the government can effectively fulfill its responsibilities.

The agency also mentioned that China plans to advance land reforms and enhance property rights for farmers, though specific details on these measures were not provided. A more thorough policy document is expected to be issued in the coming days.

Prior to the summit, President Xi Jinping vowed to implement “unprecedented” and “comprehensive” reforms, addressing growing public concerns regarding corporate monopolies held by state-owned enterprises, rampant corruption, and environmental pollution.

This meeting involved the 205-member Central Committee and marked the third annual plenum since Xi Jinping assumed the role of general secretary of the party in November and later president in March of this year. Such plenums typically occur a year after new leadership takes office.

Historically, previous Third Plenums have served as platforms for Chinese leaders to initiate significant economic reforms. The main objective of this gathering was to devise a new growth model for the world’s second-largest economy. After enjoying double-digit growth rates for over a decade, China’s economic growth recently decelerated to a two-decade low of 7.5% in the latter half of this year.