The Washington Post reports: "Party leaders are expected to use the 2016-2020 plan to renew their commitment to a marathon effort to shift China from reliance on trade and investment to more self-sustaining growth driven by domestic consumption...It is probably the most difficult five-year planning in history, because the multi-layer pressure generated by transforming the economy and at the same time maintaining growth has risen sharply," said economist Liu Yuanchun, director of the National Academy of Development and Strategy at Renmin University in Beijing. Economic growth slowed to a six-year low of 6.9 percent in the latest quarter, fueling concern about a possible rise in job losses and social tension. Some analysts say official figures overstate growth and the true rate might be as low as 4 percent."
The Wall Street Journal reports: "China's economic transformation has become a difficult, slow affair. But a new group of corporate winners is emerging that is drawing the attention of investors...Most foreign investors don't have access to these companies, but some are picking non Chinese enterprises that they think will excel in the evolving Chinese economy. Even fund managers that don't invest in China have been paying attention to the diverging fortunes of the two Chinas, which has created winners and losers globally."
The Associated Press reports: "China will provide Nepal with 1.3 million liters (340,000 gallons) of gasoline to help it cope with severe fuel shortages as a result of restricted supplies from neighboring India, officials said Sunday... Protesters have blocked a key Nepal-India border point for weeks. Other crossing points are free of protesters, but India has refused to allow a normal supply of fuel to Nepal."