President Xi Jinping has called on provincial leaders to exercise patience with the pace of economic reform, cautioning against attempts to resolve challenges too hastily, according to the Chinese Communist Party newspaper, People’s Daily.
Xi further encouraged officials to dismantle provincial interests that impede a unified national market and to avoid “selective law enforcement,” the paper reported.
“Reform is a gradual process and cannot be achieved in a single step,” Xi stated at a work session last week, reflecting on the party’s third plenum held in July, which outlined the nation’s economic direction.
While only a summary of Xi’s address was made public, People’s Daily has published four opinion pieces over the past few days, emphasizing the core messages of his speech.
Xi’s remarks come amid heightened expectations for Beijing to introduce a series of fiscal stimulus measures aimed at boosting the Chinese economy amidst ongoing economic challenges.
On October 18, China reported its lowest quarterly economic growth since early last year, at 4.6 percent, raising concerns about whether the nation will achieve its annual growth target of around five percent.
Since October 14, Xi has held three meetings urging local officials to take all necessary actions to reach the economic target while emphasizing the importance of deepening reforms and prioritizing a technology-driven path toward long-term growth.
