China keeps GDP growth target unchanged to achieve quality growth

[Highlights: Premier Wen's government work report]

Edited and translated by Liang Jun, People's Daily Online

This year's 7.5 percent GDP target is generally integrated with potential growth, according to Wang Yiming, deputy director of Macroeconomic Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Wang said this to People's Daily reporter on Tuesday. He pointed out that economic growth rate, not the faster the better, must conform to economic regularities and fully consider the potential growth capacity.

Since the first quarter of 2011, China's economy saw slowdown for seven consecutive quarters and began to rebound at the fourth quarter of 2012. However, it does not mean that China has entered a new round of high growth period.

Development must be based on a relatively rapid growth rate, otherwise, expanding employment, increasing income and improving people's livelihood have no material foundation, therefore, improving quality and efficiency of economic growth is impossible.

But Wang thinks as the current potential growth rate has fallen, the target of 7.5 percent growth rate is rational, which shows economic growth must be sustainable with benefits and quality. It also indicates that with the absolute decline of labor population, the increased tendency of labor cost and decreased tendency of saving rate and investment rate, Chinese economy's double-digit growth is a thing of the past.

Difficulties in achieving the growth target

Wang said there are a series of difficulties to achieve the 7.5 percent growth, including over-capacity, rising production cost and exports decline.

He also believes economic growth should mainly rely on the drive of domestic demand. Investment in over-capacity industries will slow down, but investment in people's livelihood projects, pollution control and low-income housing construction is expected to speed up. Growth of government consumption may slow down, while residents' consumption is expected to accelerate.

Therefore, the government decided to continue a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy. In expanding domestic demand, government should carry out system reform and technological innovation to resolve the factors hindering the improvement of efficiency and allocation.

Government pays more attentions to people's livelihood

It is worth mentioning that although the growth has slowed down, the input in people's livelihood is rising, according to Wang, which shows government pays more attention to quality of economic growth.

To improve people's livelihood, besides increasing input, government should deepen reform and rely on reform to unleash dividend of people's livelihood, according to Wang.

Read the Chinese version: 数字解读政府工作报告
Source: People's Daily; Author: Bao Dan