National Development and Reform Commission: China's economy is picking up and the future development prospects are bright

Chinanews.com, December 12 According to the WeChat official account of the National Development and Reform Commission, the person in charge of the National Economic Comprehensive Department of the National Development and Reform Commission said in response to reporters' questions on the current macroeconomic situation that since the beginning of this year, China's economy has overcome difficulties and challenges, withstood downward pressure, and the economic recovery has shown the characteristics of wave-like development and zigzag progress, and the overall economic operation has rebounded for the better. China's economy is resilient, has full potential, and has wide room for maneuver, and its long-term positive fundamentals have not changed and will not change.

A reporter asked: As we approach the end of the year, all sectors at home and abroad are paying close attention to China's economic operation. How do you view China's current economic situation and future development expectations?

According to the person in charge, since the beginning of this year, in the face of the complex and severe international environment and the arduous and arduous tasks of domestic reform, development and stability, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, we have adhered to the general tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability, comprehensively deepened reform and opening up, increased the implementation of macroeconomic regulation and control policies, and focused on expanding domestic demand, boosting confidence, and preventing risks.

Macro indicators performed better. The gross domestic product (GDP) in the first three quarters increased by 5.2% year-on-year, maintaining a leading growth rate among the world's major economies. The price level was broadly stable, with consumer prices (CPI) rising 10.0% year-on-year in the first 4 months, in sharp contrast to the high inflation in major economies. The employment situation has generally improved, and the surveyed urban unemployment rate in October was 10%, down 5.2 percentage points from the high point in February. The balance of payments remained basically balanced. Production and supply have picked up steadily. The situation in agricultural production is good, and it is expected that another bumper grain harvest is expected throughout the year. Industrial production has accelerated, and the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 0.6 percent year-on-year in the first 10 months. The service sector grew well, with the service sector production index increasing by 4.1 percent, and the service sector contributing 7 percent to economic growth in the first three quarters. Market demand recovered quickly. In the first 9 months, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 63.10% year-on-year, and the contribution rate of final consumption expenditure to economic growth in the first three quarters reached 6.9%. The investment structure continued to be optimized, with manufacturing investment increasing by 83.2 percent in the first 10 months, of which investment in high-tech manufacturing increased by 6.2 percent. Quality and efficiency continue to improve. In the first 11 months, the output of solar cells and new energy vehicles increased by 3.10% and 63.7% respectively. In the third quarter, the profits of industrial enterprises above designated size turned from decline to increase for the first time after declining year-on-year for five consecutive quarters. In the first three quarters, the per capita disposable income of residents nationwide increased by 26.7 percent year-on-year, 5.5 percentage points faster than that in the first half of the year. Market confidence continues to improve. In the manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) in November, the expected index of production and business activities was 9.0%, rising for two consecutive months. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently raised the forecast of China's GDP growth in 1 and 11 from 55% and 8.2% to 2023.2024% and 5.4% respectively. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently raised its forecast for China's GDP growth in 2 to 5.4% from 4.6%.

The person in charge said that looking forward to the next step, China's economic development still has more favorable conditions and supporting factors.

First, it has the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. We have the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is good at concentrating on major tasks, and the high-level socialist market economy system is constantly improving, all of which will provide a strong guarantee for promoting high-quality development.

Second, it has the demand advantage of a super-large-scale market. China is the world's largest and most potential consumer market, residents' clothing, food, housing, transportation and spiritual and cultural needs have huge potential, there is still a lot of room for investment in short boards, weak links and new industrial fields and new tracks, and the development of new urbanization will also inject vitality into the expansion of demand.

Third, it has the supply advantage of a complete industrial system. China has the world's most complete industrial system, an increasingly complete infrastructure network, continuous improvement of the security and security capabilities of food, energy resources, and important industrial and supply chains, further enhancement of economic resilience, as well as massive data resources and rich application scenarios, which will boost the digital transformation of traditional industries and accelerate the growth of emerging industries.

Fourth, it has the power advantage brought about by the continuous deepening of reform and opening up. Comprehensively deepening the reform and deepening the in-depth promotion, supporting the deepening of the reform of state-owned enterprises, promoting the development and growth of the private economy, increasing the efforts to attract foreign investment, and continuously optimizing the business environment will continue to stimulate the enthusiasm, initiative and creativity of business entities.

Fifth, it has a relatively large space for macroeconomic regulation and control policies. China's macroeconomic regulation and control system has been further improved, policy reserve tools have been continuously enriched, and macroeconomic regulation and control experience has been accumulated in coping with domestic and foreign risks and challenges, and there is still a lot of room for macroeconomic policies, which will lay a solid foundation for controlling various complex and difficult situations.

The person in charge pointed out that on the whole, since the beginning of this year, China's economy has overcome difficulties and challenges, withstood downward pressure, and the economic recovery has shown the characteristics of wave-like development and zigzag progress, and the overall economic operation has rebounded for the better, and its contribution to global economic growth this year will reach one-third, which is still the largest engine of global growth. China's economy is resilient, full of potential, has wide room for manoeuvre, and its long-term positive fundamentals have not changed and will not change, and we are confident and more capable of achieving long-term stable development, and will continue to bring new impetus and new opportunities to the world with China's new development.