AFP, BEIJING: China opened a major economic planning  conference yesterday  as it tries to pivot away from its model of no-holds- barred growth.

The annual Central Economic Work Conference gives leaders the opportunity  to review past policy and to plan for 2018.

The pursuit of high growth at all costs made China the world’s second  largest economy but led to severe pollution, rampant waste and a mountain of  debt.

President Xi Jinping has indicated the country would move in a new  direction, telling the Communist Party Congress in October that it needs to  shift from high-growth to high-quality development.

Xi also notably omitted economic growth targets from his three-and-a-half  hour speech to the party leaders.

Implementing his new approach will be the focus of the closed meetings  convened over three days in Beijing, state news agency Xinhua said.

The “three tough battles” for 2018 will be curbing major risks,  eradicating poverty and controlling pollution, it reported, repeating Xi’s  directions to the party congress.

This year Beijing made halting progress tackling its ballooning debt,  easing the speed at which it has been accumulating.

Still the International Monetary Fund warned in October that the debt was  growing at a “dangerous pace” and said earlier this month that banks should  raise their capital to avert debt-related risks.

Much of China’s debt is concentrated in large and unwieldy state-owned  enterprises and analysts say the sector needs reform if China is to get a  handle on curbing financial risks.

”If there are financial problems at state-owned companies, that would definitely trigger a series of financial risks,” said Wendy Chen, a China economist at Nomura bank.

”Corporate debt is the largest portion of China’s overall debt.”

But Xi has shown little sign he will push through reforms to the state sector.