China’s annual three-day Central Economic Work Conference began on December 18, during which the ruling Communist Party’s economic agenda for 2018 will be mapped out. Led by President Xi Jinping, the conference involves hundreds of senior leaders from the Communist Party, and has been held every year since 1994. The meetings usually take place behind closed doors in a heavily guarded hotel in Beijing.

A statement about the general conclusions will be released via state media after the conference, but internal debates and specific instructions are usually kept under wraps. Last year’s event took place at a time when the Chinese economy was facing a mountain of debt at home and a barrage of threats from the United States, including a tougher trade stance from President Donald Trump, higher interest rates, and lower business taxes in the U.S. At a meeting of the 25-member Politburo, the Chinese leadership listed measures to curb financial risks, eradicate poverty and fight pollution as the top economic priorities for 2018.

The Politburo statement also highlighted the need to reform the property market, a key topic at the Central Economic Work Conference. The Conference is held at a time that the United States, the European Union and Japan are expected to announce a joint effort aimed at confronting China over its excess industrial capacity and trade practices. They are expected to make a joint statement on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires. It was unclear whether China would be specifically named in the statement.

Washington, Brussels and Tokyo have raised complaints about China’s subsidies to state-owned enterprises, state financing and investment rules that often force foreign firms to transfer strategic technologies. They argue that such distortions have fueled rampant overcapacity in some industries such as steel and aluminum, which are flooding global markets and forcing lay-offs elsewhere, the South China Morning Post reports.