Chinese leaders pledge further support for flagging economy

Beijing is racing to achieve its goal of five percent annual growth in 2024, a target considered ambitious by many experts as the world's second-largest economy faces headwinds including an indebted real-estate market, flagging consumption and high youth unemployment. Tuesday's gathering of the Communist Party's powerful Politburo of senior officials was billed as a chance for top leaders to take stock of the current economic situation and set out policy directions for the second half of the year.