Chinese leaders, facing pressure to shore up sagging economy, work on new growth blueprint
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Facing pressure to shore up sagging economic growth, Chinese leaders are gathered this week to draw up a new blueprint to guide development through the end of this decade.
Communist Party leaders opened an annual meeting Monday to work on their next five-year plan for "economic and social development."
Analysts expect Chinese leaders to affirm their commitment to giving market forces a bigger role in the state-dominated economy while retaining the ruling party's control of key industries.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}They face pressure to speed up an economic overhaul aimed at shifting China from reliance on trade and investment toward self-sustaining growth driven by domestic consumption.
Economic growth slowed to a six-year low of 6.9 percent in the latest quarter, fueling concern about a rise in job losses and possible unrest.