At a meeting of the Politburo, chaired by President Hu Jintao, the firm decision was made: "The country will step up construction of major projects related to energy conservation and environmental protection in 2010." The report of the meeting added that, "attendees…agreed that the country should maintain the continuity and stability of the macroeconomic policies."Importantly, the leadership also agreed to next year "implement, enrich and improve" the stimulus package aimed at tackling the global financial crisis.
China unveiled an unprecedented $586 billion stimulus package a year ago at the height of the global crisis. The economy has rebounded strongly, growing 8.9% in the third quarter from 7.9% in the second and 6.1% in the first three months of the year. This is excellent compared to the rest of the world but in China it is the slowest pace in more than a decade.
AFP reported that the meeting, called to review economic policies for the year ahead, came a day after China unveiled for the first time its specific targets for curbing growth in carbon emissions by 2020.
Senior leaders had said recently that China would stick to its "moderately loose" monetary policy as the government sought to help lift the economy out of a slowdown triggered by the global financial crisis.