He also urged them to break down the fences of vested interests in each province in favour of a national market and to avoid “selective law enforcement”, the newspaper said.
While it only published a summary of Xi’s speech to the officials, the flagship newspaper has rolled out four opinion pieces based on the speech’s highlights in recent days in an effort to get the key messages across.
Xi delivered his remarks amid high expectations that Beijing was about to roll out a range of fiscal stimulus measures designed to inject funds into the Chinese economy against a backdrop of economic challenges.
On October 18, China posted its lowest quarterly economic growth of 4.6 per cent since the first quarter of last year, raising concerns about whether it can reach this year’s target of “around five per cent”.
Xi has issued three rallying calls since October 14, urging local officials to exhaust all means to reach the economic target, while reiterating the need to deepen reforms with the aim of steering a tech-driven path towards growth over the long run.