The latest meeting of China’s senior-most political body has flagged further curbs on the growth of covert financing and a loosening of restrictions on inbound foreign investment, as part of a broad package of fiscal and economic reform policies.
President Xi Jinping convened a meeting of the Politburo of China’s Communist Party on 24 July, in order to analyse current economic conditions as well as outlined economic work plans for the second half of 2017.
According to China’s state media the Politburo said that it would “advance supply side structural reforms” as its main policy path, noting that a strong economic performance in the first half of the year gave policymakers the opportunity to accelerate structural adjustments to industry and dissipate overcapacity.
In terms of specify policy actions for the second half, the Politburo will “actively and appropriately dissipate local government debt risk that has accumulated, effectively standardise debt funding by local governments, and firmly curb growth in hidden debt.”
The Politburo also pointed to the need to “stabilise foreign and private investment, stabilise confidence and strengthen the protect of property rights,” as part of efforts to “expand the entry of foreign capital into the market, and strengthen the appeal of the business environment to investors.”
