Top government meeting discusses overheating, inflaton

A top-level government meeting in Beijing to discuss ways of cooling China's economy and curbing inflation in 2008 kicked off on Monday, AFP reported. Other issues on the agenda for the Central Economic Work Conference include addressing China's vast trade surplus and improving social conditions. Analysts expect broad initiatives to emerge from the meeting rather than specific legislation. With China's 2007 GDP growth figure estimated at 11.5%, this will be the country's fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth. The year-end inflation figure is projected at around 4.5%, which exceeds the target for 2007 by 50%.