China's third plenum offers little in the way of economic help

The ruling Chinese Communist Party on Thursday published a communique from its third plenum that analysts said was long on slogans dear to General Secretary Xi Jinping and short on practical measures to boost the flagging economy – despite promises of reinvigorating reforms in state media reports.

While state media has been at pains to laud party leader Xi Jinping as a "reformer" in the mold of late supreme leader Deng Xiaoping, the communique from the third plenary session of the party's Central Committee, which ended in Beijing on Thursday, offered scant details on specific reforms. 

Instead, it threw its support behind a litany of political jargon favored by Xi, headlining its role as "seeking progress while maintaining stability."

The communique vowed to "continue to strengthen propaganda, ideological and cultural work" while "resolutely safeguarding national and social stability."

Economic recovery appeared further down the list, under the "comprehensive and strict governance of the party."

The document also announced the expulsion of former Foreign Minister Qin Gang and other disgraced officials from high-ranking party posts.

In a possible indicator of the direction of any "reforms," the communique also vowed to improve the party's grasp of Marxist economics, including improved handling of the relationship between the forces of production and the "economic base" of the general population. 

It also said it would improve its "macroeconomic governance," suggesting that Xi's administration will forge ahead with its top-down, government-directed approach to economic management, at the expense of the market forces that were given freer rein under the reforms of Deng Xiaoping.

The party should "better maintain market order, make up for market failures and smooth the circulation of the national economy," particularly when it comes to developing China's own scientific and technological capabilities, the document said.

‘Old slogans and empty words’

Veteran journalist Zhang Shuang said she was disappointed by the lack of content in the 5,000-character statement.

"The communique did not contain any inspiring news, which was in stark contrast to the propaganda and praises of reforms in the run up to the meeting and while it was going on," Zhang said. "It was just filled with old slogans and empty words."

"The only thing that was clear was that Qin Gang remains a party member," Zhang said.

The plenum decided to accept Qin’s resignation and remove him from his position as member of the Central Committee, the communique said. But it stopped short of expelling him from party ranks entirely.

It also accepted a report from the Central Military Commission, the party's military wing, on the "serious violations of discipline and law" by former Defense Minister Li Shangfu and former People's Liberation Army Rocket Force chiefs Li Yuchao and Sun Jinming. 

It "confirmed the previous decision of the Politburo to expel Li Shangfu, Li Yuchao and Sun Jinming from the Party."

Du Wen, a former legal adviser to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region government, agreed that there was nothing new in the communique.

"There are no highlights or specific measures," Du said, adding that the main thrust of the document appears to be strengthening the power of Xi and the Communist Party.

"It covers a wide range of issues, but they are all empty words and cliches," he said. "It lacks specific measures, good policies and any clear direction."

Spinning its wheels?

The plenum communique did mention "reforms of the taxation system," an item predicted by economic analysts, as well as improvements to the healthcare and "population management" systems, but gave no details.

The party's absolute control over the People's Liberation Army also got a special mention, as well as the modernization of its armed forces and joint combat capabilities, it said.

Diplomatically, the government looks set to keep going with its attempts to export China's authoritarian model of government as part of Xi's slogan, "a shared future for mankind," as well as its growing role in international organizations, according to the communique.

"The plenary session called on the entire party, the entire army and people of all ethnic groups across the country to unite more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core," it said, as part of the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."

Tung Li-wen, an advisor to Taiwan ThinkTank, said the communique suggests that the party leadership is "spinning its wheels."

"Is national security more important, or is economic development?" Tung said. "This old question is holding the Chinese Communist Party back, making its policy-making wavering and inconsistent."

Changing course

Tung said that during the third plenum of the 18th Central Committee in 2013, Xi had claimed that the market would play a decisive role in resource allocation, and vowed to expand economic reforms and opening-up, but had yet to deliver on those promises.

"Centralized control and decentralization are two different kinds of reform," he said. "Clearly, Xi Jinping has chosen the path of centralized control."

Ming Chu-cheng, professor emeritus of political science at National Taiwan University, agreed, saying that the use of the word "reform" by state media under Xi actually means the opposite of what it once meant under Deng Xiaoping.

"If you think reform means streamlining the government and decentralizing power to stimulate the economy, then of course it wouldn't make sense," Ming said. 

"[Xi] believes that those kinds of reforms were wrong, and were a dangerous thing that caused the Chinese Communist Party to lose control of society, and to lose power," he said. "Now, he's taking that power and control back into his own hands, which is what he calls true reform."

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.