China putting controlling financial risk, reducing poverty and curbing pollution over GDP growth

China is willing to accept some weakness in GDP growth to focus on making strides in the next three years around three priorities.

The priorities are
* controlling financial risk
* reducing poverty
* curbing pollution

China will clean-up of the financial sector. “We will promote a benign cycle from the financial sector to the real economy, to the property sector, and within the financial system, and firmly crack down on financial irregularities,” a communiqué released after the three-day conference said.

On alleviating poverty, Beijing said it would take a pragmatic approach. “We will not lower standards. We will not generate unrealistic expectations,” the communiqué said, adding that the focus would be on “motivating” specific poverty-stricken groups to pursue a better life.

Beijing again declared war on pollution, promising to reduce “substantially” emissions of the main pollutants, close down outdated industrial capacity, and do more to link energy saving and the fight for “blue sky days” to officials’ appraisals.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists Helen Qiao and Sylvia Sheng wrote in a note that de-emphasising the growth rate showed China was not worried about growth stability. They expected policymakers to intensify efforts on deleveraging and reducing outdated capacity in coming years.