"difficulties and challenges" facing the economy at a high-level meeting, state media said Tuesday. The calls came during a meeting of the ruling Communist Party's Politburo, a top decision-making body headed by President Xi Jinping, according to a summary published by state news agency Xinhua. The world's second-largest economy has struggled to mount a robust comeback since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a protracted debt crisis in the once-booming property sector and sluggish consumption weighing on activity, even as exports boom. Noting "a strong start" to the year, officials at the meeting also acknowledged that "the economy faces certain difficulties and challenges, and the foundation for its sustained steady and positive growth still needs to be further consolidated". "Efforts must be made to promote scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening," Xinhua said. Leaders also called for "continuously expanding domestic demand", as well as moves to "stabilise the real estate market" and employment, the report added. Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said the meeting showed that "the government is aware of the difficulties" facing the economy. While last quarter's overall growth outpaced forecasts, momentum is set to slow during the second quarter due to external uncertainties and higher energy prices, Zhang wrote in a note. (Bssnews)