The World : China Halts Reform Talks

China’s leaders, in an unprecedented move, curtailed a crucial annual strategy meeting when it deadlocked amid wrangling over the future of bold economic reforms, Chinese officials said. The halt in the meeting, which began in mid-July, marked a major setback for changes backed by Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang and may herald a slowdown in the capitalist-style reforms launched by senior leader Deng Xiaoping nine years ago, officials said. The meeting at the northern beach resort of Beidaihe reportedly broke down last Friday over implementation of price and wage reforms. The summit has been a fixture of Chinese politics since the 1950s, when it was begun by Mao Tse-tung to let leaders escape Beijing’s sultry summers.