2nd Ld-Writethru: Xi's thought on socialist economy for new era takes shape

BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping Thought on Socialist Economy with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era has taken shape, according to a statement released after the Central Economic Work Conference concluded on Wednesday.

The thought is the "theoretical crystallization" of the past five years of practice in pushing forward China's economic development, and the "latest fruit" of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics, the statement said.

The three-day conference was attended by President Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

The annual meeting, which set the tone for China's economic policies in 2018, also described the thought as the "extremely precious spiritual wealth" of the CPC and the country. It must be adhered to for a long time and developed continuously.

According to the statement, the thought is mainly based on the new development philosophy, which was put forward by Xi in 2015 and features innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development.

During the conference, the most important annual meeting on economic work in the country, Chinese leaders reviewed the country's economic performance over the past five years and mapped out plans for 2018.

This year's conference came after the CPC's twice-a-decade national congress in October, during which Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era was unveiled and listed as a part of the guiding ideology for the CPC in its amended Constitution.

"High-quality development" is a key phrase of the conference. China's economy has transitioned from a phase of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development, said the statement.

"High-quality development is the fundamental requirement for determining the development path, making economic policies, and conducting macroeconomic regulation at present and in the period to come," it said.

China will further supply-side structural reform and adopt a prudent and neutral monetary policy and a proactive fiscal policy, it said.

The leaders have also defined "preventing and defusing major risks, targeted poverty alleviation and pollution control" as the "three tough battles" for the next three years, according to the statement. Enditem