Overview

• China's National Financial Work Conference is underway with plans to issue 1 trillion yuan ($330 billion) in bonds for infrastructure projects and disaster prevention. The strategy is meant to stimulate growth and counteract the sharp slowdown in housing construction.
• There will be an emphasis on long-term reforms, managing both the immediate and future challenges in the financial sector. Top concerns include massive debts held by real estate developers, local governments and regional banks.
• The conference will also focus on strengthening the leadership and supervision of the Communist Party. This includes a complete reshuffle of economic and financial leadership positions by President Xi Jinping, an effort seen as a move to consolidate power.
• Concurrently, China is grappling with a serious property crisis, with major developer China Evergrande on the brink of default. This situation underscores the urgency of dealing with excessive borrowing and the broader economic fallout.
• Despite these financial strains, the Chinese economy, the world's second-largest, has seen respectable growth, expanding at a 4.9% annual pace in the first nine months of the year. The government's goal is to maintain this momentum whilst responsibly dealing with its ballooning debt.