Alibaba’s Ma says China benefits from stability of one party China likely to set slower GDP growth target for 2018: UBS

AlibabaGroupHolding’sJackMa saidChinabenefitsfromthe stabilityofitssingle-party system,contrastingthatwith theunpredictabilityofUS politics. TheChinesebillionaire madethecommentsin responsetoaquestionaboutthe country’seconomyandits prospectsforgrowth.Hesaidhe hasconfidenceinChina’s potentialandcitedashis numberonereasonthestability ofonepartyinthecountry, whichhasbeenledbythe Communistssince1949.Inthe US,theDemocratsgooneway, thentheRepublicansgo another,hesaid,which complicatesplanning.“Iam veryconfidentaboutChina,”Ma said. BLOOMBERG< China’s main annual economic policy meeting is likely to set a slightly lower growth target for 2018, suggesting that deleveraging will be gradual and no “serious” property tightening measures are in the pipeline. That’s according to Wang Tao, head of China economic research at UBS Group AG in Hong Kong. She argues in a December 5 note that policy makers won’t drop a numerical growth target altogether, though may set a range similar to this year’s at around 6.5 per cent without repeating this year’s language that it should be higher if possible in practice. Policy makers usually convene their annual Central Economic Work Conference in December.

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