China pledges greater economic support ahead of Party Congress, firms ‘facing more difficulties’ than 2020
- Li Keqiang says one crucial way to stimulate the market is reform, and Beijing will unveil details of new support policies in coming days
- Li’s comments follow a similar warning about stalling economic growth in May and come ahead of the 20th party congress in October
Premier Li Keqiang has sounded another warning about China’s economy ahead of the 20th party congress, saying companies are “facing more difficulties than in 2020” – during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus – while calling for more reform.
Speaking at a State Council meeting on Wednesday, he said “market entities” were struggling and China was at a critical point in its economic recovery, so effective delivery of support policies was important.
In the face of downward economic pressure, the premier said the government will unveil details of new policies in the coming days.
“Reform is an extremely important tool in the policy toolbox. [We need] to adhere to reform to further reduce the institutional transaction costs of market entities,” he said, according to a summary of the meeting by the official Xinhua News Agency.
