to favour a mixed economy: even as the debate over GEAR raged, the ANC declared itself (in 2004) a social-democratic party, and it was at that time presiding over phenomenal expansions of its black economic empowerment programme and the system of social grants. Developmental state As its name suggests, the RDP emphasised state-led development – that is, a developmental state – which the ANC has typically been cautious, at least in its rhetoric, to distinguish from the neighbouring concept of a welfare state. In the mid-2000s, during Mbeki's second term, the notion of a developmental state was revived in South African political discourse when the national economy worsened; and the 2007 National Conference whole-heartedly endorsed developmentalism in its policy resolutions, calling for a state "at the centre of a mixed economy... which leads and guides that economy and which intervenes in the interest of the people as a whole". The proposed developmental state was also central to the ANC's campaign in the 2009 elections, and it remains a central pillar of the policy of the current government, which seeks to build a "capable and developmental" state. In this regard, ANC politicians often cite China as an aspirational example. A discussion document ahead of the ANC's 2015 National General Council proposed that:China['s] economic development trajectory remains a leading example of the triumph of humanity over adversity. The exemplary role of the collective leadership of the Communist Party of China in this regard should be a guiding lodestar of our own struggle. Radical Economic Transformation Towards the end of Jacob Zuma's presidency, an ANC faction aligned to Zuma pioneered a new policy platform referred to as Radical Economic Transformation (RET). Zuma announced the new focus on RET during his February 2017 State of the Nation address, and later that year, explaining that it had been adopted as ANC policy and therefore as government policy, defined it as entailing "fundamental change in the structures, systems, institutions and patterns of ownership and control of the economy, in favour of all South Africans, especially the poor". Arguments for RET were closely associated with the rhetorical concept of white monopoly capital. At the 54th National Conference in 2017, the ANC endorsed a number of policy principles advocated by RET supporters, including their proposal to pursue land expropriation without compensation as a matter of national policy. Symbols and media Flag and logo The logo of the ANC