Investors have been warned that China's economic growth may slow as leaders push through wide-ranging reforms.
After consolidating his power at the recent Party Congress, president Xi Jinping is expected to tackle difficult policy areas, such as restructuring China's state-owned enterprises.
“With the government prioritising potentially painful reform measures, there is a real risk of Chinese growth disappointing on the downside in 2018,” said Eric Moffett, portfolio manager of the T. Rowe Price’s Asia Opportunities equity strategy.
The Party Congress failed to provide a forward-looking growth target, noted Moffett, which may signal that growth is set to decelerate.
However, the fund manager said Xi's short-term measures ought to yield long-term benefits. Moffett added that China's leaders are not likely to worry about a slowdown in economic growth so long as median incomes, which have already risen thanks to changes to minimum wage laws, continue to increase.
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