When the Chinese government launched a fiscal stimulus package a month ago, it was more a statement of intent than a battle plan. Officials wanted to send a signal that they were taking action.

The “central economic work conference”, as the meeting is known, will give leaders a chance to refine and potentially expand spending plans for the next two years. The government has indicated it will introduce measures to boost consumption.

The initial announcement of the fiscal stimulus was rushed out, officials have acknowledged, because growth in the economy was slowing rapidly. And since the first announcement, the economy appears to have deteriorated further, including a drop in car sales and electricity production in November and reports that exports had decreased for the first time in nearly a decade.