Chinese leaders vow to prop up Covid-battered economy as virus spreads and death toll mounts in Beijing

A resident buys vegetable from a street vendor in Beijing, Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. A week after China dramatically eased some of the world's strictest Covid-19 containment measures, uncertainty remained Thursday over the direction of the pandemic in the world's most populous nation. - AP

BEIJING, Dec 16 (Reuters): President Xi Jinping and his senior officials pledged to shore up China's battered economy next year as the deaths of two veteran state journalists highlighted the worsening spread of Covid-19 in the capital Beijing.

Xi and his leaders ended their two-day Central Economic Work Conference with a call, via state media, to step up policy adjustments and strengthen coordination to support an economy that analysts estimate grew just 3% this year - its worst performance in nearly half a century.