Li Qiang Chairs 12th State Council Plenary Meeting, Urges Economic Stability and Reform
Chinese Premier Li Qiang chaired the 12th plenary meeting of the State Council on August 17, where he called for unwavering implementation of the Communist Party Central Committee’s decisions and renewed efforts to achieve the nation’s annual economic and social development targets, according to Xinhua News.
The meeting focused on thoroughly studying and implementing President Xi Jinping’s important remarks on the current economic situation and economic work, with Li emphasizing the need to align thinking and action with the Party Central Committee’s scientific assessment of the situation.
Economic Assessment and Challenges
Li noted that under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee and through the collective efforts of all sectors, China’s economy has maintained overall stability with steady progress, exhibiting a development trajectory characterized by new momentum and improved structure, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality.
However, the premier also cautioned that insufficient domestic demand remains a prominent issue, with some industries and enterprises facing growing difficulties and external environmental uncertainty on the rise. He stressed the importance of anchoring development targets, fully leveraging the effectiveness of existing policies, and promptly formulating pragmatic incremental policies to remove bottlenecks and obstacles.
15th Five-Year Plan Implementation
Li emphasized that this year marks the first year of implementing the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), and called for accelerating the plan’s implementation from the outset. He highlighted the need to advance major engineering projects and leverage the plan’s guiding role across various sectors.
Key priorities outlined by the premier include:
- Expanding domestic demand: Maintaining this as the strategic foundation, focusing on key contradictions, and continuing efforts in sectors with long supply chains and large scale to strengthen the domestic economic cycle
- Infrastructure development: Accelerating implementation of the “six networks” construction plans and innovating investment and financing mechanisms to attract social capital
- Investment and consumption: Coordinating efforts to invest in people and promote consumption, with increased policy resource allocation
- Private investment: Providing strong support for investment in emerging fields, new infrastructure, and consumption upgrades
- External demand: Actively stabilizing external demand, expanding international economic and trade cooperation, and promoting balanced trade development
Technology and Industrial Transformation
Li called for strengthening technological empowerment and accelerating the transition between old and new growth drivers. He emphasized increasing support for cultivating emerging pillar industries and future industries, while continuously promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries to consolidate the foundation of the real economy.
Livelihood and Security
The premier stressed the importance of solid work in ensuring and improving people’s livelihoods, focusing on employment and income growth, enhancing public service levels, and strengthening basic living guarantees for disaster-affected populations and post-disaster reconstruction. He also emphasized firmly holding the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty.
Li further called for better coordination between development and security, including risk resolution, disaster prevention and mitigation, and workplace safety, to promote positive interaction between high-quality development and high-level security.
Requirements for Government Officials
Li pointed out that under the new circumstances, economic and social development work places higher demands on the capabilities and work style of governments at all levels. He called for greater pragmatism, consolidating and expanding the results of education on establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievements, and insisting on taking practical measures and achieving practical results.
He also urged officials to maintain integrity and innovation, skillfully using reform-oriented thinking and innovative methods to solve problems, and stimulating enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and work across all sectors.
Meeting Participants
All members of the State Council plenary meeting attended the session, along with responsible officials from relevant departments and units. Principal leaders of provincial-level governments and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps attended the meeting via video link from their respective locations.
The meeting underscores the Chinese government’s continued focus on economic stability and structural reform as it navigates both domestic challenges and an increasingly complex global environment. Observers will be watching for concrete policy measures that may emerge from this meeting in the coming weeks, particularly regarding domestic demand stimulation and support for private investment.