Chinese leaders stress reform balancing act

With "reform" a key word in the the top leaders' recent speeches, analysts believe that the government is playing "reform and opening up" as a trump card.

"In the face of economic downturn, a short-term stimulus policy could be one way to drive up growth. But after weighing the pros and cons, we concluded that such an option would not help address the underlying problems," Li said when addressing the forum.

This indicated that the government will not follow the old path to stimulate the economy, but take the initiative to tackle the problems through bold reforms, said Wang Xiaoguang, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Governance.

The message is not only meant for the world, but also for local Chinese officials, who should change their mindset of "begging for stimulating policies" and shift to the new growth pattern pursued by the central government, said Zuo Xiaolei, chief economist at China Galaxy Securities.

Recent months have seen a raft of eye-catching measures introduced by the government to deepen reforms. They include delegating administrative power to lower levels, cleaning up local government debts and reducing overcapacity.

The newly established pilot free trade zone in Shanghai has also been viewed as the latest move to widen opening up.

The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, which is scheduled for November, will further highlight discussions on comprehensively deepening reforms.

"More measures and policies designed to boost reforms and opening up will be unveiled at the upcoming meeting of the CPC. They will be much ahead of public expectations," Kuang predicted.

Analysts believe that the growing signs of economic stabilization exhibited during the past two months have proved that the economy doesn't need stimulus. This will help steel the resolve of the leadership to pursue the rebalancing act.

"The upbeat trend shows that economic restructuring alone will bring new sources of economic growth," according to Zuo.

Key economic data for August showed higher-than-expected pick-ups in manufacturing, export growth and industrial profits, prompting economic institutions to raise China growth forecasts.

"The message delivered by the leadership is important to stabilize public expectations, while the motivation and vitality inspired by the expectations will be more powerful than a trillion-yuan stimulus package," Kuang said.