China eyes progress against major risks, poverty, pollution in 2018

BEIJING - China will seek solid progress in forestalling and defusing major risks as well as in targeted poverty alleviation and pollution control in 2018, according to the central authorities on Friday.

An overall plan should be made to "ensure the winning of the three tough battles," said a document released after a Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee meeting.

The meeting focused on analyzing and studying the economic work in 2018, and was chaired by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

"China should contain the overall leverage ratio and raise the financial sector's capability of serving the real economy to prevent and defuse major risks," it said.

For targeted poverty relief, the country must provide precise support for special impoverished groups, including the disabled, the elderly and students in poverty, as well as intensifying efforts in regions of abject poverty.

On poverty alleviation, China should help people increase confidence in their ability to lift themselves out of poverty and ensure they can access the education they need.

For pollution control, the country should continue to reduce the emission of major pollutants to improve environment quality.

The document said the country will adhere to "seeking progress while maintaining stability" as the underlying principle of the work.

"Pushing for high-quality development is the fundamental requirement for determining the development path, making economic policies and conducting macro-economic regulation at present and in the future," the document said.

Next year, China will also strive for marked results in major tasks, including deepening supply-side structural reform, accelerating housing reform, forming a mechanism with lasting effects, and providing more quality ecological products, it said.