Growth to rule them all

As we've said elsewhere, our overall takeaway from the Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) is that policymakers will be more focused on economic growth in the year ahead.

What has us particularly stoked: The CEWC readout indicated that policies that interfere with growth will be reevaluated – and potentially changed.

Here's the money line from the CEWC readout:

• “[We must] incorporate non-economic policies into the assessment of macroeconomic policy consistency."

What that means: Officials must vet all policies to ensure they don't negatively impact growth.

Let us explain: The 2022 CEWC announced the establishment of a macroeconomic policy consistency review mechanism, which was meant to ensure that all economic policies are consistent with each other.

• This year's CEWC is signaling that the review mechanism will be expanded to ensure that all policies – including those not directly related to the economy – are consistent with macroeconomic settings.

Get smart: This could help to keep in check some of the security-related measures that have been undermining growth and spooking businesses.

Get smarter: The mechanism is less than one year old and how it functions is highly opaque.

• So it's still too early to tell how effectively it can prevent counter-growth policies in 2024.