But the third plenum usually attracts particular attention: it is sometimes used to give a boost to reforms in the world’s second-largest economy.

China’s ruling Communist Party will hold its next key conclave in October to chart development plans for the next five years, as the nation contends with risks to the economy at home and abroad.

For Xi, it would have been a chance to signal where China’s economy is heading as it manages multiple major transitions: a transition out of three years of Zero Covid; a transition from over ...