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China’s third plenum

A shopper examines goods at a supermarket in Tengzhou, Shandong province, on April 11. Photo: Xinhua

Opinion | There’s hope for China’s economy, as long as planners can ‘let go’

Despite economic challenges, a commitment to reform and pre-emptive planning will ensure China’s fundamentals remain strong.

13 Oct 2024 - 9:30AMvideocam

China’s middle class is riding a wave of optimism for now, but can it last?

12 Oct 2024 - 10:00PMvideocam

Opinion | A stronger, safer Hong Kong will contribute to civilisation

1 Oct 2024 - 10:42AMvideocam

Is China looking at Mao-era plan to boost economic self-reliance?

The original plan moved industries west to counter the threat of invasion, but now the prime motivation appears to be supply chains.

21 Sep 2024 - 6:33AMvideocam

China cracks down on academic misconduct as part of push to beat US in tech war

By naming and shaming Chinese researchers for misconduct, China’s science ministry is doubling down on its push towards tech prowess.

17 Sep 2024 - 11:35AMvideocam

Hong Kong must better sync up policies with Macau, mainland China: Starry Lee

Starry Lee, who sits on NPC Standing Committee, says more policy coordination between jurisdictions aligns with spirit of third plenum.

31 Aug 2024 - 9:19PM

China’s urban-rural gap is a threat to growth. Is the divide too wide to fix?

Researchers report waning optimism about social mobility among rural Chinese as education disparities create obstacles for economy.

27 Aug 2024 - 6:17AMvideocam

Hong Kong has critical role in country’s reform: senior Beijing officials

Commerce minister Wang Wentao and key legal official Shen Chunyao brief political elites on third plenum resolution in Hong Kong session.

27 Aug 2024 - 11:28PMvideocam

Opinion | Far from an aggressor, China has been remarkably restrained

Despite becoming a US peer competitor, China’s practice of strategic forbearance does not point to aspirations of global hegemony.

17 Aug 2024 - 8:28AMvideocam

Opinion | China’s third plenum shows its reform era has entered a new phase

As China strives to build a “high-level socialist market economy”, expect the central government to build on the reforms of past decades.

13 Aug 2024 - 4:30PMvideocam

People riding bicycles and electric scooters wait at a traffic light in Beijing, on July 18 as the Communist Party of China’s third plenum draws to a close. Photo: EPA-EFE

Hong Kong must be ‘3 centres, 1 hub’ as stated in China’s third plenum: Paul Chan

City must position itself as international centre for finance, shipping and trade, and a major talent hub, finance chief says in blog post.

11 Aug 2024 - 8:34PM

Kwai Chung Container Terminal. Finance chief Paul Chan has all called for the city to focus on growing sectors such as smart and green shipping. Photo: Jelly Tse

China’s third plenum highlights the quiet rise of political theorist Wang Huning

The CPPCC chairman’s role on the plenum’s documents drafting team shows he remains Xi’s ideological ‘brains trust’, an observer said.

10 Aug 2024 - 10:00PMvideocam

Letters | A bright side to Olympic gold medallist Vivian Kong’s retirement

Readers discuss the fencer’s image as a heroine, tennis gold for China, false allegations against a boxer, and China’s third plenum communique.

10 Aug 2024 - 11:30AM

Opinion | What China watchers should know about where the country is headed

The reforms outlined in the third plenum sets the groundwork for deepening efforts such as poverty alleviation to sustainable development.

8 Aug 2024 - 4:45PM

A giant screen shows President Xi Jinping attending the Communist Party’s third plenary session in Beijing on July 18. Photo: Reuters

Opinion | How Hong Kong can fulfil its crucial role in China’s modernisation

Reform continues to be a central theme in the Communist Party’s vision for China, which offers scope for Hong Kong to play to its strengths.

8 Aug 2024 - 6:30AMvideocam

People wave the Chinese national and Hong Kong special administrative region flags during an event celebrating the 27th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule on July 1. Photo: Bloomberg

Opinion | Trump’s return as US president would not be all doom and gloom for China

Trump’s return, while expected to affect how China will carry out Xi’s reforms, could also work in Beijing’s favour geopolitically.

5 Aug 2024 - 8:28AMvideocam

Opinion | How Hong Kong can help overturn narrative of China turning inwards

With its world-class biotech research and unique East-meets-West culture, Hong Kong could facilitate cooperation between China and the rest of the world.

4 Aug 2024 - 4:27PMvideocam

Opinion | The era of the entrepreneurial Chinese local government is over

Local governments, so crucial to China’s economic take-off, have arguably become the biggest drag on the economy and must now be reined in.

3 Aug 2024 - 3:15PMvideocam

Cyclists and construction in Beijing on July 18. Municipalities’ dependence on land sales for revenue is one of the main factors behind China’s property bubble. Photo: EPA-EFE

Far from farms: China aims to energise economy with new urbanisation action plan

A five-year undertaking could see 70 per cent of all Chinese settled in large cities, with newly granted urban-residency status and benefits, to expand domestic demand and industrial upgrades.

1 Aug 2024 - 10:22PMvideocam

A firebrand commentator analysed China’s third plenum. Now he’s gone silent

Firebrand former Global Times chief is absent from Weibo and WeChat after publishing now-deleted piece on China’s economic strategy.

2 Aug 2024 - 1:53AM

Open Questions | Ex-World Bank economist on why ‘China will not be misled’, dodging Japan’s fate

Professor and economist Justin Lin Yifu says China’s industrial policy is paramount to continued development, tech innovation and the transition to higher productivity.

5 Aug 2024 - 8:16PMvideocam

Opinion | China must heed its own lessons in tackling past overcapacities

Overtightening hurt China’s economy in the past. Faced with new overcapacities, China should adopt a more expansionary fiscal and monetary policy.

31 Jul 2024 - 11:43PMvideocam

If policymakers had pursued moderate fiscal and monetary expansion while encouraging the market to play a decisive role in eliminating sectoral overcapacity in 2012, China may well have achieved higher GDP growth rates in the ensuing years. Photo: AP

China wants to be better prepared for strategic risks like economic sanctions

The top leadership vowed to improve ‘early warning’ systems to identify threats to its interests and investments overseas at last week’s third plenum.

26 Jul 2024 - 10:59PMvideocam

The View | How China’s move to cap salaries is redefining finance’s role in society

The measure shows the central government sees finance as a support mechanism for the real economy, not a stand-alone profit centre.

26 Jul 2024 - 9:35PMvideocam

Opinion | Solutions to China’s birth rate problem don’t lie in Japan’s playbook

Japan’s expensive, inefficient approach will not get China back on the right track, and neither will the coercion of the one-child policy.

26 Jul 2024 - 5:50AMvideocam

A woman carries a child at a park in Beijing. China’s population shrank by 2 million people last year, a trend that looks set to continue. Photo: Bloomberg

China’s third plenum shows it is ‘not in the mood’ to slow down on nuclear arms

Analysts expect speedy boost to ‘quality and quantity’ of China’s nuclear arsenal, as Russian stand shows power of ‘strategic deterrence’.

24 Jul 2024 - 6:10PMvideocam

A nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine of the Chinese Navy patrols the South China Sea. China has rapidly expanded its nuclear arsenal as part of boosting “strategic deterrence”. Photo: Reuters

Shanghai to open up further to boost Yangtze River Delta region’s development

Shanghai and neighbouring provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui will fine-tune their business environment to spur activity in the YRD region, official says.

23 Jul 2024 - 9:16PMvideocam

Opinion | China’s timely tax reforms will help local governments deliver stability

With a shift away from disproportionately expecting state governments to power growth, the focus must now be on social welfare and stability.

23 Jul 2024 - 8:30PMvideocam

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China’s third plenum

The Chinese Communist Party held its third plenum of the 20th Party Congress in July 2024, a long-anticipated meeting where the country’s leaders are expected to release a plan for reform that will chart a sustainable growth path and address economic difficulties.

last updated:

13 September, 2024