The Wire

While budget battles, central banks and financial markets monopolize our attention, this weekend saw one of the most important geopolitical events of the year. Four hundred top officials from the Chinese Communist Party have gathered in Beijing for the Third Plenum of the 18th Central Committee, the yearly meeting of China’s top brass. Over the decades, the Third Plenum has played host to some of the most radical changes in Chinese policy, including Deng Xiaoping’s 1978 market reforms. While we don’t yet know the decisions taken at the meeting, and might not know even a few years from now, the combination of China’s new leadership and some necessary reforms make this one of the most anticipated Plenums in years.