Kang Yi: I am confident that the economy will achieve an expected growth rate of around 5% this year

　　At 9 a.m. on March 12, the first session of the 14th National People's Congress held its fifth plenary session in the Great Hall of the People.

After the meeting, a "minister channel" interview activity was held, and some responsible persons of relevant ministries and commissions of the State Council who attended the meeting were invited to be interviewed.

Xinhua News Agency reporter

　　We know that in 2022, the Chinese economy will withstand the impact of various unexpected factors and maintain the stability of the overall economic market.

Since the beginning of this year, with the optimization and adjustment of epidemic prevention and control policies, all parties are generally optimistic about the prospects and trends of my country's economic development.

What do you think about this?

At present, there are still many uncertainties at home and abroad. How do you view the economic situation this year?

Thanks.

　　Kang Yi, director of the National Bureau of Statistics

　　Thank you for your question.

Everyone is more concerned about the operation of the macro economy. As the reporter friend mentioned just now, the overall stability of the macro economy will indeed be maintained in 2022.

From the perspective of macroeconomic operation, the overall economic operation last year can be summed up in five sentences.

Generally speaking, the macro economy remains generally stable, and the achievements achieved are remarkable and hard-won. It demonstrates the strong resilience of the Chinese economy and lays a good foundation for economic work this year and in the future.

　　First, the overall economic operation is stable.

Judging the macroeconomic operation is generally measured from four aspects: economic growth, employment, prices, and balance of payments.

In 2022, we will achieve a 3% GDP growth, the total GDP will reach 121 trillion yuan, and the per capita GDP will reach 12,700 US dollars.

Prices remained basically stable, and the CPI rose only 2% last year, maintaining a moderate rise, in stark contrast to the high inflation in other countries.

In terms of employment, the surveyed urban unemployment rate fluctuated from month to month, and the surveyed urban unemployment rate dropped to 5.5% at the end of the year.

The international balance of payments maintained an overall balance, especially the RMB exchange rate was relatively stable among the world's major currencies, and foreign exchange reserves remained above US$3 trillion.

　　Second, achievements are hard-won.

In 2022, geopolitical conflicts will impact the global economy, the domestic epidemic situation will be repeatedly delayed, and natural disasters such as high temperature and drought will be added. It is very remarkable to achieve such achievements under such complicated circumstances.

From an international comparison point of view, my country has achieved the best results in epidemic prevention at the lowest cost, protecting the lives and health of the people to the greatest extent.

my country's 3% economic growth last year was also higher than the 2.1% of the United States, Japan's 1.0%, and Germany's 1.8%.

In addition, my country's prices remain stable, and "China's price stability" is in stark contrast to "world inflation".

These achievements reflect the strong resilience of the Chinese economy.

　　2022 is an extremely difficult year. In the face of difficulties and shocks, we have withstood the pressure, showing that our economy can cope with various risks and challenges. Much maneuverable policy space.

　　Regarding the performance of my country's economic operation in 2023, the Central Economic Work Conference proposed to promote the overall improvement of economic operation. The National Two Sessions proposed that the economic growth target for this year is about 5%. I am confident that the overall economic operation will improve and achieve the expected growth target of about 5%.

Confidence comes from two aspects, one is the judgment of the fundamentals of economic development, and the other is the observation of the basic situation of economic operation in the past two months this year.

In the medium and long term, my country is still a developing country, and its per capita level is still far behind that of the developed countries in the world, with huge development space and potential.

my country's ultra-large-scale market has obvious advantages, with sufficient labor supply and good production factor conditions, and the fundamentals of long-term improvement have not changed.

Many experts, scholars, and research institutions at home and abroad are studying the potential growth rate of China's economy, and the calculation of the potential growth rate of China's economy is basically between 5% and 6%.

With the accelerated recovery of normal production and living order, my country's economic growth is expected to return to the potential growth level.

　　Judging from the situation in the first two months of this year, first, market expectations are improving.

On March 1, our Bureau released PMI-related indicators, among which the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index was 52.6%, a record high of 130 months, which shows that market players are relatively confident in their future expectations.

Some international organizations and institutions have also raised the expected target of my country's economic growth.

From the perspective of the world economy, since February, due to China's economic recovery, many international organizations have become less pessimistic about the world economy, and have also raised their forecasts for world economic growth in 2023.

Second, the leading indicators have shown signs of improvement.

For example, the volume of railway freight, power generation, and the balance of RMB loans have all grown steadily.

Third, there are more positive factors in economic operation, including industrial added value, total retail sales of consumer goods, service industry production index and so on.

The National Bureau of Statistics will release the data from January to February on March 15, please continue to pay attention.

　　In 2023, we are confident to promote the overall improvement of economic operation and achieve the annual growth target of around 5%.

However, China's economy still faces many uncertainties, and there are many uncertainties in the international arena. The development environment is very complicated. There are still some deep-seated and structural contradictions and problems in the domestic economic operation itself. There are some difficulties in the operation of market entities and enterprises. However, the people still face many difficulties in employment and income growth, and there are still hidden risks in some fields.

Therefore, in the next step, we must follow the deployment of the Central Economic Work Conference and the "Government Work Report", completely, accurately and comprehensively implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, and focus on promoting high-quality development.

I think that through the joint efforts of the whole country, this year's economic target is very confident that it can be achieved, and it can promote the overall improvement of China's economic operation.

Thanks.

　　(According to the text of the webcast)