Prioritize recovery and expansion of consumption
Efforts to expand domestic demand (new direction of the economy · how to do work this year)
Reporter Wang Ke Ge Meng Chao Luo Shanshan
"People's Daily" (Version 02, January 4, 2023)
The Central Economic Work Conference pointed out that the economic work in 2023 is complex and complex. We must proceed from the strategic overall situation, start with improving social psychological expectations and boost development confidence, and do a good job.
Focusing on the key tasks of economic work in 2023, such as expanding domestic demand, speeding up the construction of a modern industrial system, earnestly implementing the "two unwavering", and making greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign capital, this edition of the "New Economic Orientation" column will launch the "New Orientation" column today. In the series of reports on how to do this year's work, we invite the heads of relevant ministries and commissions to interpret the practical and hard moves, experts and scholars to offer advice and suggestions, and jointly plan how to promote the overall improvement of economic operation and make a good start for the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country.
--editor
"Fireworks" is back!
Recently, the passenger flow in many business districts has picked up significantly.
According to data from an e-commerce platform, in the two days before the New Year’s Day holiday, the online transaction volume of dine-in meals across the country more than doubled compared with the same period in the previous week; according to the calculation of the data center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 52.7134 million domestic tourists traveled during the holiday, and domestic tourism revenue was 2.6517 billion. 100 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.0%... The consumer market is becoming more and more popular, and the consumer business is picking up.
The Central Economic Work Conference will "focus on expanding domestic demand" as a key task in 2023, and proposes to prioritize the recovery and expansion of consumption.
In the new year, how to give full play to the basic role of consumption and release the demand potential of my country's ultra-large-scale domestic market?
How to play the key role of investment to further expand domestic demand?
How to give full play to the supporting role of exports in the economy and realize the connection between internal and external markets more efficiently?
The reporter recently interviewed the heads of relevant ministries and commissions and many experts and scholars.
Restore and expand consumption
Enhance consumption capacity, improve consumption conditions, and innovate consumption scenarios
From January to November 2022, the total retail sales of consumer goods in my country will be 39919 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0.1%.
Consumption is an important engine of my country's economic growth, and expanding domestic demand is the top priority to promote the overall improvement of economic operation.
Focusing on expanding domestic demand, the Central Economic Work Conference proposed to enhance consumption capacity, improve consumption conditions, and innovate consumption scenarios.
Increase the income of urban and rural residents through multiple channels, and support consumption such as housing improvement, new energy vehicles, and elderly care services.
Jing Linbo, dean of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Evaluation, said that currently, there are some constraints in my country's expansion of consumption: from the supply side, the innovation capabilities of market players cannot fully meet the requirements of high-quality development, and the individualized and diversified consumption needs of the masses have not been effectively met. Satisfied; From the demand side, there is a large gap between urban and rural regional development and income distribution. In addition, due to the impact of the epidemic, ordinary people's income growth has slowed down and expectations have fallen, making them afraid to consume and inconvenient to consume.
To restore and expand consumption, we must work hard to resolve these difficulties.
"When the pockets are bulging, consumption is motivated." Chen Lifen, a researcher at the Market Economic Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council, suggested that the income of urban and rural residents should be increased through multiple channels, especially the consumption of low- and middle-income residents who have a high propensity to consume but are greatly affected by the epidemic. ability.
Appropriately increase consumer credit.
Implement the detailed employment priority policy, support the development of industries and enterprises with a strong ability to absorb employment, and timely and effectively alleviate the impact of structural price rises on the poor.
"Policies can play a greater role in restoring and expanding consumption." Hong Yong, an associate researcher at the Institute of Electronic Commerce of the Ministry of Commerce Research Institute, believes that consumption policies should be continuously improved to support consumption such as housing improvement, new energy vehicles, and elderly care services.
For example, implement policies according to the city to support rigid and improved housing needs; continue to implement the policy of exempting vehicle purchase tax, and promote the transformation of automobile consumption from purchase management to use management; promote the coordinated development of elderly care and the elderly care industry, and accelerate the improvement of the coordination of home, community institutions, and medical care. An old-age service system that combines health care and health care.
The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce said that it will conscientiously implement the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, and actively take measures together with relevant departments to restore and expand consumption, and continuously enhance the fundamental role of consumption in economic development.
The first is to consolidate and enhance traditional consumption.
Automobiles, home appliances, home furnishing, and catering account for about a quarter of the total retail sales of consumer goods, and are the pillars of consumption.
Efforts will be made to stabilize automobile consumption, support the purchase and use of new energy vehicles, and accelerate the activation of the second-hand car market.
Support the resumption of development of catering and other industries, promote the consumption of home appliances and household appliances, and promote the sending of green and smart home appliances to the countryside and the replacement of old ones with new ones.
The second is to accelerate the development of new types of consumption.
It will promote the healthy and orderly development of new formats and models, promote the digital transformation of life services, and promote the integration of online and offline.
Conform to the trend of consumption upgrades, promote green consumption, smart consumption, and healthy consumption, develop the first-store first-launch economy, create more new consumption scenarios, and release new consumption vitality.
The third is to optimize the consumption platform carrier.
In terms of cities, we will accelerate the cultivation and construction of international consumption center cities, promote the renovation and upgrading of pedestrian streets in a steady and orderly manner, coordinate the establishment of smart business districts and smart store demonstrations, and better meet diversified consumption needs; Daily convenience.
In rural areas, we will speed up the construction of county-level commercial systems, and promote the double increase of farmers' income and rural consumption.
In addition, a series of consumption-promoting activities will be organized and carried out in due course to promote the continued recovery of consumption.
Expand effective investment
Make up for shortcomings, expand employment, and promote consumption
To focus on expanding domestic demand, investment should play a key role.
Make good use of special debt funds, and use policy-based developmental financial instruments to supplement the capital of major projects...Since 2022, various regions and departments have taken multiple measures to expand effective investment, and a sum of funds has been invested in infrastructure, industrial manufacturing, and people's livelihood. protection and other major projects.
Local government special bonds help stabilize investment and growth.
Special debt is an important policy tool to cope with the downward pressure on the economy and stimulate effective investment.
"Since 2022, the newly added special bond funds have been mainly invested in municipal and industrial park infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, social undertakings, affordable housing projects, agriculture, forestry and water conservancy, ecological and environmental protection, etc. Important support." Yang Zhiyong, vice president of the Institute of Financial and Economic Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said.
Financial instruments effectively support infrastructure construction.
In June 2022, the People's Bank of China will support the China Development Bank and the Agricultural Development Bank of China to set up financial instruments totaling 300 billion yuan, which will be used to supplement the capital of major projects including new infrastructure, or to bridge the capital of special debt projects.
In August, the first batch of 300 billion yuan of financial instruments had been allocated to the project, and an additional 300 billion yuan was added.
As of the end of October 2022, a total of 740 billion yuan has been invested in the two batches of financial instruments.
Experts said that policy-based developmental financial instruments supplement project capital, drive supporting financing follow-up, and support a number of effective investment projects that are both beneficial to the current and long-term. The implementation of these projects is conducive to promoting stable investment growth and optimizing the supply structure. .
The public-private partnership (PPP) model stimulates the vitality of private investment and is an important policy tool for stabilizing investment.
The data shows that from January 2020 to the end of October 2022, the accumulated investment in major projects in storage was 1.9 trillion yuan, accounting for 48% of all projects in storage at this stage; the investment in major projects started was 2.3 trillion yuan, accounting for all of this stage. 42% of projects started.
Since 2022, the policy of stabilizing investment has continued to make efforts, and investment growth has been generally stable. From January to November, fixed asset investment increased by 5.3% year-on-year.
"Expanding effective investment will help make up for shortcomings, expand employment, and promote consumption." Yang Zhiyong believes that in 2023, fiscal, financial and other means should work together to drive effective investment.
Various forms such as financial subsidies and interest discounts can be considered to give full play to the role of financial tools in expanding investment and leverage more funds into the investment field.
At the same time, strengthen the division of labor and coordination of fiscal and taxation, finance, industry, technology and other policies, so that the expansion of effective investment will not only increase in quantity, but also achieve qualitative improvement.
The Central Economic Work Conference proposed that the proactive fiscal policy in 2023 should be stepped up to improve efficiency.
Xu Hongcai, vice-minister of the Ministry of Finance, said that the increase is mainly reflected in: First, coordinate fiscal revenue, fiscal deficit, special bonds, dispatch funds, etc., maintain the necessary fiscal expenditure intensity, and continue to promote the sinking of financial resources.
The second is to rationally arrange the deficit ratio and the scale of local government special bonds to ensure that government investment will not decrease.
The third is to increase the transfer payment from the central government to the local governments, and firmly grasp the bottom line of the "three guarantees" at the grassroots level.
Efficiency improvement is mainly reflected in: First, improve the policy of tax reduction, tax rebate and fee reduction, and enhance precision and pertinence.
The second is to further optimize the structure of fiscal expenditures, and support the improvement of shortcomings, strengths and weaknesses, solid foundations, and advantages.
The third is to better play the role of fiscal funds in guiding and leveraging, effectively driving the expansion of investment in the whole society and promoting consumption.
The fourth is to improve the direct access mechanism of financial funds and deepen budget performance management.
Fifth, continue to innovate and improve fiscal macro-control, focusing on strengthening coordination and cooperation with monetary, industrial, technological, and social policies.
Stable scale and excellent structure of foreign trade
Achieve higher efficiency to connect internal and external markets
To vigorously implement the strategy of expanding domestic demand, it is necessary to give full play to the role of opening up in promoting domestic demand, effectively utilize global factors and market resources, realize the connection of internal and external markets with higher efficiency, and promote the development of a higher level of domestic circulation.
The Central Economic Work Conference proposed that exports should continue to play a supporting role in the economy, and actively expand the import of advanced technology, important equipment, energy resources and other products.
"China is the world's largest trader in goods, and also the world's largest trader in goods + services. Foreign trade is related to China's cooperation in the global supply chain and value chain system." Zhang Jianping, deputy director of the Academic Committee of the Ministry of Commerce Research Institute, said On the one hand, our country should export products and services with comparative advantages to the international market, and use external demand to stimulate economic growth and employment.
On the other hand, China has become the second largest consumer market in the world, and the demand for global diversified and high-quality products and services continues to rise.
At the same time, as the world's largest manufacturing base and one of the core countries of the global value chain, my country needs to import a large amount of energy, raw materials and other products to meet the needs of the domestic market, and needs to import and export a large amount of intermediate products to meet the needs of global supply chain collaboration.
Optimizing the business environment at ports, increasing fiscal and taxation and financial support, and organizing groups to expand overseas markets... Since 2022, various regions and departments have continued to implement a package of measures to stabilize foreign trade to help companies bail out, ensure supply and chain stability, and promote foreign trade to achieve stability and improvement. quality.
In 2023, greater efforts will be made to promote the stable scale and optimized structure of foreign trade. It still requires all regions and departments to concentrate and work hard.
Shu Jueting, spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the Ministry of Commerce will continue to support localities to use business charter flights and commercial flight resources to facilitate foreign trade company personnel to go abroad to participate in exhibitions, conduct business negotiations and other business activities.
At the same time, it will promote and optimize the service guarantee measures for inbound personnel in due course, and provide more convenience for overseas business personnel to carry out business negotiation activities in China.
The relevant person in charge of the General Administration of Customs stated that it will improve the normalized supervision measures, support the development of new formats such as cross-border e-commerce, overseas warehouses, and market procurement, and cultivate new momentum for foreign trade development; optimize the business environment at ports, and increase efforts to help companies bail out. Accurately implement policies and measures, and do a good job in key tasks such as serving foreign-funded enterprises and private enterprises.