• The meeting will also focus on immediate measures to counteract a prolonged real estate downturn and persistent malaise.
• The unclarity of policy direction in China is affecting consumer and investor confidence.
• The outcome will communicate the future direction of policy to local government officials.

China’s ruling Communist Party is beginning a four-day meeting on Monday to outline a strategy for achieving self-sufficient economic growth amid heightened national security concerns and restrictions on access to American technology.

While typically focusing on long-term issues, business owners and investors will also watch to see if the party announces any immediate measures to counteract a prolonged real estate downturn and persistent malaise that has suppressed China’s post-COVID-19 recovery.

“There’s a lot of unclarity of policy direction in China,” which is weighing on consumer and investor confidence, said Bert Hofman, the former World Bank country director for China and a professor at the National University of Singapore. “This is a point in time where China needs to show its cards.”

The outcome of the meeting will convey a message to local government officials and others about the future direction of policy. The general expectation is that it will confirm a path laid out by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, although some hope for adjustments to address concerns that increasing government control over business and society is stifling economic growth.

The Communist Party’s 205-member Central Committee is convening its third plenum, known as the third plenary session of a five-year term that began in 2022. This year’s meeting, which was anticipated to occur last year, was delayed.

Historically, this third meeting has been notable for setting major economic and policy decisions, though not consistently. Analysts note that the plenum often establishes longer-term directions that impact the economy.

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