China to hold key Communist Party plenum in July amid economic pressure

BEIJING (Reuters) -- The Chinese Communist Party's central committee will gather in July for a key meeting known as a plenum, the third since the body of elite decision makers was elected in 2022, focusing on reforms amid "challenges" at home and complexities abroad.

Plenums are important events on China's political calendar that require the attendance of all of the party's central committee, comprising 205 members and 171 alternate members with President Xi Jinping at the helm.

The central committee typically holds seven plenums between party congresses, which are held once every five years. The current central committee members were elected at the last party congress in October 2022.

Further deepening reforms and promoting the modernization of China will comprise the main agenda of the third plenum, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the party's elite political bureau, or politburo, during a regular meeting.

Third plenums have been typically held in the autumn since the 1990s. The party was widely expected to hold one in either October or November 2023, but it did not.

The upcoming third plenum will open amid a subdued economy, with the massively indebted property sector, once accounting for a quarter of gross domestic product, a major drag on household sentiment.

The economy still faces many challenges, with "effective demand" still lacking, the pressure on enterprises sizable, and risks and hazards in key areas numerous, Xinhua reported, citing the politburo meeting.

"Domestic circulation is also not smooth, and the complexity, severity and uncertainty of the external environment has obviously increased," Xinhua reported, adding China's economic foundation remained stable.

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