Stakes are high for the meeting, which takes place every five years and is known as China’s third plenum. It has historically been a platform for the party’s leadership to announce key economic reforms and policy directives. China’s gross domestic product expanded by 4.7% in the April to June months, compared to the previous year. But observers of China’s opaque political machine don’t believe there will be fundamental economic reforms this time around. Uncompleted residential buildings at a real estate project on the outskirts of Shenyang in China's Liaoning province earlier this year.

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