At the same time, it stressed the need to “promote win-win development between platform companies and the operators and workers within them”.
Su said the wording signals growing recognition that technological progress, while yielding gains in productivity, can also disrupt employment.
“The explicit call for mutual benefits for both platforms and workers shows the government’s recognition of the disruptive effects technological progress can have on labour markets,” she said.
Green energy also emerged as a clearer priority. Wang noted that the CEWC readout, for the first time, called for drafting a national plan to build a “neng yuan qiang guo” or “energy-strong nation” in Chinese.
“This will be a leading priority in building the modern industrial base under the 15th Five-Year Plan,” Wang said, noting that 2026 marks the first year of the new planning cycle.
She expects more policy and financing support for new energy and carbon-related industries.
HALTING INVESTMENT DECLINE
Investment emerged as a point of concern at this year’s CEWC, with the official readout explicitly calling for efforts to “halt the decline and stabilise investment”.
The emphasis comes against a backdrop of weakening fixed-asset investment (FAI), a broad measure covering spending on infrastructure, factories, equipment and other long-term assets.
Official data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics show FAI fell 1.7 per cent year-on-year in the first 10 months of 2025, largely dragged down by the property downturn. Excluding real estate, investment rose 1.7 per cent.
The indicator captures total spending on building and purchasing fixed assets within China, including both domestic and foreign-funded projects, but does not directly measure foreign direct investment flows.
Liu from Nomura said the conference sent an unusually clear signal that policymakers recognise the severity of the slowdown.
“Since the third quarter, the decline in fixed asset investment has been almost unprecedented in recent history,” she said.
The stated objective, Liu added, is for investment growth to return to positive territory as part of a broader economic repair. However, she noted that the policy toolkit appears limited.
“There were not many new policies mentioned,” Liu said, adding that the conference largely reiterated measures rolled out earlier this year, including expanding quotas for local government special bonds and deploying new policy-based financial instruments.
“These policies will need proper follow-through.”
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