China holds major financial conference as leaders maneuver to get slowing economy back on track

By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — China’s leaders are expected to search for ways to mend the country’s fractured property market, create jobs for millions of unemployed youths and spur faster growth in a meeting that reportedly began Monday in Beijing. The National Financial Work Conference, usually held twice a decade, is expected to further fortify leader Xi Jinping’s control of the country’s $61 trillion financial sector. It follows the announcement last week of plans to issue 1 trillion yuan ($330 billion) in bonds for infrastructure projects and disaster prevention. By dipping deeper into deficit, the government is looking to counter a sharp slowdown in housing construction. Economists say the challenge lies in finding ways to ensure sustainable, balanced growth.