BEIJING (AP) – Chinese leaders have met to set economic goals for 2017 amid pressure from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and European governments over trade and market access.
The government of President Xi Jinping has promised to make the world’s second-largest economy more competitive and productive by giving market forces a bigger role, but reform advocates complain Beijing is failing to reduce the dominance of state companies. Foreign companies say regulators are trying to squeeze them out of technology and other promising fields.
The Economic Work Conference, attended by Xi and other Communist Party leaders, is a throwback to China’s era of central planning but still plays a key role in directing economic development.
This year’s gathering, which began Wednesday, comes as Beijing faces complaints it is hampering access to its markets and subsidizing exports in violation of its free-trade commitments.
Trump, who takes office Jan. 20, has vowed to press Beijing by imposing 45 percent tariffs on Chinese goods. Few economists expect Trump to go that far but any sanctions could hurt Chinese export industries that support millions of jobs.