Opinion | What China watchers should know about where the country is headed

Opinion | What China watchers should know about where the country is headed

On July 18 this year, the third plenum concluded with a proposal for “further comprehensive deepening [of] reform”, a continuation of China’s pragmatic approach to development that Western analysts often underestimate. Long-term reform is a challenge. In Western democracies, political candidates campaign on promises of change, but after one or two terms, little may actually … Read more

China’s third plenum holds out hope for debt-hit local governments with funding reform

China’s third plenum holds out hope for debt-hit local governments with funding reform

The leadership agreed to grant local governments more “autonomous fiscal capacity”, allowing them to increase their tax sources and “appropriately” expand their management authority relating to taxation, the document revealed. The policy measures from the four-day, closed-door plenary session – aimed at laying out China’s economic road map for the medium term – come as … Read more