Chinese premier urges efforts to accomplish economic objectives, tasks

China

Chinese premier urges efforts to accomplish economic objectives, tasks

2026-08-17 21:38 Last Updated At：22:07

Chinese Premier Li Qiang urged solid efforts to accomplish the objectives and tasks for this year's economic and social development to make a good start in implementing the 15th Five-Year Plan while presiding over a plenary meeting of the State Council in Beijing on Monday.

Li said that since the beginning of this year, China's economy has registered steady growth featuring new momentums and structural improvement.

In the face of problems such as insufficient domestic demand and growing difficulties in some industries and enterprises, Li called for a focus on development goals to continuously push for innovation-driven and high-quality economic development by leveraging existing policies and rolling out new practical and effective policies in a timely manner.

Noting that this year marks the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), Li emphasized the need to give full play to the plan's guiding role in all areas, urging efforts to maintain steady economic operation and expand domestic demand.

Efforts should be strengthened to advance the construction of water networks, new-type power grids, computing power networks, next-generation communication networks, urban underground pipeline networks and logistics networks, and innovate investment and financing mechanisms to attract social capital, Li said.

Li called for efforts to stabilize external demand and expand the space for mutually beneficial international cooperation in trade and economy.

It is imperative to leverage science and technology to accelerate transition from old to new growth drivers, increase support for emerging pillar industries and future industries, continuously promote the upgrading of traditional industries, and consolidate the foundation for the real economy, Li said.

Li also stressed doing a good job in ensuring and improving people's livelihood, boosting employment, increasing people's incomes, improving public services, carrying out disaster relief, and preventing the resurgence of poverty.

JP Morgan warns of possible global food crisis due to Hormuz Strait disruptions, El Nino

Global food production could take a severe hit from the twin shocks of shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a potentially historic Super El Nino, raising the risk of a worldwide food crisis, a senior JP Morgan economist warned.

In a report titled "Food Security Is National Security: A Compounding Storm," Nora Szentivanyi, JP Morgan's London-based senior global economist, said the combination could cut crop yields, constrain farming, and keep food inflation elevated through the first half of 2027. This year's global energy supply shock, she added, could magnify the inflationary impact of a super El Nino.

Global food inflation is expected to climb from 2.8 percent in the first half of 2026 to 5 percent in the first half of 2027, lifting overall inflation by 0.6 percentage points, she noted in the report published by JPMorgan.

The impact is likely to be deeply uneven, with emerging economies in parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America bearing the brunt because their agricultural sectors are more sensitive to weather shifts and food makes up a larger share of household spending, according to the report.

The report calls for more help for vulnerable groups already facing food shortages. It cites data showing that some 645 million people worldwide were going hungry last year, while about 2.1 billion people experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, equating to roughly 25.8 percent of the global population.

Other major institutions have sounded similar alarms. Research teams at Goldman Sachs and HSBC have flagged rising global food inflation risks, and a recent UN Food and Agriculture Organization report showed the Global Food Price Index rose month-on-month in July at its fastest pace since January 2023.