China's top leaders to confront its eternal dilemma on economic policy

China’s top leaders meet this week in Beijing to set economic policy objectives for the coming year. The central question is whether they will do what they want or what the country needs.

Clear evidence has emerged in the past couple of months that the Chinese economy is slowing to an uncomfortable degree. That’s raised expectations that the leadership will opt for significant stimulus at the Central Economic Work Conference, which Bloomberg News reported will be held from Dec. 19-21.

Pressure for stimulus revives the eternal question of whether to prioritize growth over deleveraging. Beijing has worked diligently to slow debt growth