China seeks ways to revive slowing economy and salvage property market as annual congress convenes

BEIJING (AP) — It’s clear that China’s efforts to build confidence in its slowing economy will top the agenda of this week’s meeting of its ceremonial national legislature.

What remains unclear is how the ruling Communist Party can navigate toward stronger, sustained growth as China’s workforce is aging, relations with Washington are fraught, and housing construction — a main driver of the economy — is in crisis.

Hopes for a strong, consumer-led recovery after severe anti-virus controls ended in late 2022 have not been fulfilled. Local governments are mired in trillions of dollars of debt and direct investment by foreign companies in China fell by about 80% last year.

As more than 5,000 leaders from across China gather in Beijing for the year’s biggest political events, the mood on the streets and in financial markets remains glum.

That’s in contrast to official messaging as the country marks 75 years from the People’s Republic founding in 1949.

“We are confident of consolidating and enhancing the recovering and growing trend of the economy,” the party newspaper People’s Daily wrote in a commentary Saturday.

“We are fully capable of turning pressure into a driving force, accumulating and turning advantages into victorious trends and steering the advance of the great ship of the economy while braving wind and waves,” it added.

For videographer Wang Tao, the question is what the leadership will do about jobs. At 41, he’s struggling to find work in a labor market where companies tend not to hire anyone over 35.

“At first I thought it was difficult only for older people like me, but later I found out that many young people … are having a hard time finding work,” Wang said. “The general employment situation is grave.”

The congress