MERICS media briefing on the Third Plenum

On July 11, 2024, at 9 a.m. (CET), MERICS held a media briefing on the Third Plenum.

From July 15 – 18, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party will convene in Beijing to hold the Third Plenum, a famous meeting format where Deng Xiaoping once launched the reform and opening economic policies. At this year’s gathering, party and state leader Xi Jinping is expected to map out the direction of the Chinese economy for the coming five to ten years.

Reforms and guidance are urgently needed to address economic slowdown, a severe property crisis, youth unemployment and demographic shifts. There are mixed expectations on what will emerge from the meeting, which takes place in a difficult geopolitical environment with relations between China and the United States continuously fraught and the EU set to impose tariffs on Chinese cars.

At the media briefing, our experts shared their assessments of what matters at the Third Plenum, what the potential outcomes might be and how this will affect China’s international economic and political relations going forward. Their brief inputs were followed by a Q&A.

Speakers:

Alexander Davey, Analyst, Politics and Society Program, MERICS

Nis Grünberg, Lead Analyst, Politics and Society Program, MERICS

Max J. Zenglein, Chief Economist, MERICS

Moderator:

Claudia Wessling, Director Communications and Publications, MERICS