![Third plenum gives a glimpse into China’s opaque politics](https://research.jgu.edu.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/china-flag.jpg)
The Communist Party of China has shown its commitment towards improving the current system with special emphasis on strengthening the technological sector.
Author
Gunjan Singh, Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
The Third Plenum of the 20th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) finally happened between July 15-18. This plenum was delayed and should have been concluded in the fall of 2023.The delay led to a number of speculations regarding the direction of the Chinese economy under Xi Jinping.
Between the party congresses which occur every five years, the CPC has seven plenums. Out of these for the last 46 years, the third plenum has been the one which has indicated the direction of the Chinese economy. It was at the third plenum of the 11th party congress in 1978 that Deng Xiaoping announced the process of reform and opening up, which proved pivotal in making China the second-largest economy. It was at the third plenum of the 18th party congress under Xi that the CPC officially announced the end of the One-Child Policy.
However, the recently concluded plenum had a lot on its plate. The world was keenly waiting to see what will be the direction provided by Xi, given that the economy is struggling on multiple fronts. The real estate sector has been underperforming, the earnings of the provincial governments have reduced, there is a rise in unemployment, major debt issues, the financial sector and private sector require reforms, and domestic consumption continues to remain low. Chinese domestic consumption is just 56% of the GDP which is around 20% lower than the international average. Even after a push for dual circulation, no major improvement has occurred. The impact of the stringent zero-Covid policies continues to haunt the Chinese economy.
Published in: Deccan Herald
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