Chinese policy stays in lane

Party set-piece points to pursuit of balance between economic expansion and competing priorities such as risk management and zero-Covid

China’s landmark national congress in Beijing in October provided clues about the country’s energy strategy, with President Xi Jinping stressing a continuation of current policies that will likely mean subdued demand for the next few months. Xi’s nearly two-hour speech kicked off the week-long meeting—which is held once every five years—while the party also released a 70-page report that praised its accomplishments over the previous decade and set goals for the next five years. Policy continuity was one of the main takeaways from the report, along with various topics covered by Xi’s speech that ranged from foreign policy to the party’s internal governance. With Xi now entering his third term