Beijing celebrates 30 years of reform

It will be interesting to see how this plays out...

Chinese Leaders Promise More Liberalization
By Jason Leow, The Wall Street Journal
Dec. 18, 2008

BEIJING -- China's Communist Party leaders, meeting Thursday to celebrate 30 years of market-driven economic strategy, promised more liberalization but warned that an economic slowdown threatened gains and created the need to guard against instability.

"Nothing can be done without stability," said Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is also head of the party, speaking in the Great Hall of the People. He said economic development was key to achieving "enduring peace and stability."

Mr. Hu mentioned the global financial crisis and its impact on China only briefly in a speech intended to mark the triumph of the country's policy of "reform and opening up," which began in December 1978 under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping.

Since then, China has lifted 235 million people from poverty, the state media said, and is on track to become the world's third-largest economy this year. In 16 of the past 30 years, China has posted double-digit gains in gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic activity.

Today, however, Mr. Hu and his government are faced with slowing growth and a population increasingly upset with job losses and a widening gap between rich and poor. The global financial turmoil of the past year has hurt China's exports, on which the economy depends. The country's GDP is likely to expand by just over 9% this year, down from last year's 11.4% growth. Economists predict growth next year of less than 8% next year, threatening greater unemployment and unrest. (cont'd)