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Geopolitical Risks Threaten China’s Economy, Premier Li Says

Li’s comments came ahead of President Xi Jinping’s keynote speech to the WEF on Tuesday.

Geopolitical Risks Threaten China’s Economy, Premier Li Says
China’s Premier Li Keqiang addresses the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly, at UN headquarters, Wednesday, 21 September 2016. (Photo: AP)

(Bloomberg) -- As Chinese leaders prepare for Donald Trump taking office this week, Premier Li Keqian warned that an increasingly complicated global political situation will weigh on the economy.

Geopolitical risk and political shifts add great uncertainty to the existing headwinds for the expansion, Li said at a meeting Friday on the government work report for this year, the state-run People’s Daily reported Monday.

Li’s comments came ahead of President Xi Jinping’s keynote speech to the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, in which he is expected to talk about global economic conditions. Chinese leaders are preparing for what may be a tumultuous new year after Trump occupies the White House on Jan. 20, as well as new elections coming soon in Europe and South Korea.

The premier urged cadres to be "mindful of potential danger" and called for firm confidence in the economy. He also urged a continued push for supply-side reforms this year as well as powerful measures to address underlying risks to the world’s second-largest economy.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Miao Han in Beijing at mhan22@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Malcolm Scott at mscott23@bloomberg.net, Jeff Kearns, Jodi Schneider

With assistance from Miao Han