Plenum communique indicates anxiety over economy

The big day is finally upon us.

The Central Committee’s long-awaited Third Plenum concluded on Thursday – and the communique is out.

A bit of a damp squib: The communique contained no major surprises or indications of any earth-shattering reforms.

Hope is not lost: Don’t read too much into the communique.

• These documents tend to not be very illuminating.
• The Plenum “decisions,” which will be released in the coming days, will provide us the important details on where Xi Jinping plans to take the economy over the next decade.

This is interesting: The communique discusses the current state of the economy. Specifically, it says:

• “The plenum analyzed the current situation and tasks, and emphasized that [we must] unswervingly realize the annual economic and social development goals.”

That’s weird: Plenums are about planning for the medium and long term. Discussing the short term outlook marks a major departure from past plenums.

Our take: The leadership is clearly worried about the still struggling economy.

• That means we could see more aggressive policy interventions coming out from the econ-focused Politburo meeting at the end of the month.

Our other takes: Neopol Pro subscribers can check out our other key takeaways from the Plenum communique here.