(Bloomberg) — China’s top leaders promised to boost economic stimulus to spur growth and vowed to contain the country’s worst Covid outbreak since 2020, which is threatening official targets for this year.

“We should waste no time in planning more policy tools and enhance the strength of adjustment in due course,” the Communist Party’s Politburo said Friday, according to a readout of a meeting of the leadership on state broadcaster China Central Television.

Authorities should “strengthen macro adjustments, strive to achieve full year economic and social development goals, and keep the economy running within a reasonable range,” it said.

The Politburo, led by President Xi Jinping, pledged to “strengthen infrastructure construction in an all-around way” and to support the housing market. Officials repeated the phrase that “houses are for living in not for speculation,” and said the government would work to meet demand for better quality housing.

The Covid Zero policy, however, was not abandoned. It is having a negative effect on the economic economy because it forces cities into lockdowns to control outbreaks.

Following the resumption of trading in the afternoon session, the benchmark CSI 300 Index climbed as high as its session record. The index gained up to 2.4%. It reversed earlier weakness and rose 0.27%, to $6419 per USD as of 1:33 p.m. local.

The meeting had been highly anticipated for clues on what China would do to boost the economy, which has been challenged by a wave of coronavirus infections and Beijing’s strict adherence to its Covid Zero strategy. The government’s target of 5.5% is not expected to be met by economists. Instead, they expect the gross domestic product growth rate to rise only 4.9% according to Economists.

Chinese officials have promised greater support for the economy in recent weeks, culminating in a call from Xi on Tuesday for an “all out” infrastructure commitment to bolster growth, including construction in fields such as transport, energy and water conservation.

(Updates with further details.

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