Xi May Drop ‘Development First’ Slogan at China’s Party Congress
- Phrase was used at every Communist Party congress since 2002
- That shift would signal more tolerance for slower growth
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Chinese President Xi Jinping could cement a historic policy shift at the Communist Party’s congress by elevating the status of national security even at the expense of economic growth.
Every party leader since Jiang Zemin in 2002 has used their speech at the twice-a-decade congress to affirm that economic development is the party’s “top priority.” Xi could drop that phrase in favor of a slogan calling to “balance development and security,” according to analysts.