China firms up confidence of success, strives to transform all positive factors into actual achievements in development

China's annual Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing from Dec. 11 to 12. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered an important speech at the conference. In his speech, Xi reviewed the country's economic work in 2024, analyzed the current economic situation, and arranged next year's economic work.

Photo taken on Dec. 14, 2024 shows the Longtan Yangtze River Bridge in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province, which is expected to open to traffic by the end of 2024. (People's Daily Online/Fang Dongxu)

China's development journey over the past year has been extraordinary and the achievements have been encouraging. Despite the deepened adverse impact brought by changes in the external environment and many difficulties and challenges still facing the economic operation at present, the Chinese economy has posted generally stable performance while making progress, with a strong start followed by increasing downward pressure around mid-year and a subsequent upswing in the final quarter.

New quality productive forces have provided crucial support for China's high-quality development. China has made significant progress in scientific and technological innovation, such as integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, and quantum technology. Traditional industries have been embracing intelligent upgrading and digital transformation.

The major goals and tasks for China's economic and social development in 2024 are expected to be accomplished. It marks the first time that the country registered annual production of over 10 million new energy vehicles and an annual grain harvest of over 700 million tonnes.

From a global perspective, China remains a key driving force for world economic growth, bringing more vitality and certainty to the global economic recovery.

In particular, faced with increasing downward pressure and a slowdown in key economic indicators' growth in the second and third quarters this year, the decisive deployment of a package of incremental policies at the meeting held by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Sept. 26 has effectively boosted social confidence and led to a remarkable economic recovery. These policies have not only helped achieve this year's targets but also laid a solid foundation for economic development next year.

The meeting was a milestone in the history of China's economic development. It fully demonstrates that the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core made accurate assessments, decisive decisions, and effective policy arrangements in response to the changing economic situation. It also highlights China's efforts to make timely, science-based, and targeted policy adjustments and promote policy coordination and synergy, creating a powerful "policy mix" to tackle challenges.

China has remained clear-eyed and undisturbed in a volatile world. Its achievements of the past year fully demonstrate the strategic resolve of the CPC Central Committee and reflect its wisdom and ability to navigate a complex and volatile global economic landscape.

Car doors are manufactured in a workshop of an auto parts company in Qingdao, east China's Shandong province, and ready to be sent to an automobile factory, Nov. 28, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Han Jiajun)

It was pointed out at China's Central Economic Work Conference this year that the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee is the fundamental guarantee for carrying out economic work well. At critical moments and important junctures, the CPC Central Committee promptly assesses the situation, and makes decisions and arrangements to ensure that China's economy braves the wind and the waves and sails steadily into the future.

These experiences profoundly summarize China's economic work under the leadership of the CPC in the new era and represents a widely shared consensus across the country.

China's Central Economic Work Conference this time unveiled a host of effective policy measures targeted at stabilizing social expectations and boosting market confidence. For instance, it was required at the meeting that next year, a more proactive fiscal policy will be implemented, and China will continue to support projects for implementing major national strategies and building security capacity in key areas, as well as large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs. The country will pay more attention to improving people's lives, promoting consumption, and sustaining growth momentum.

For the first time in 14 years, China will implement a moderately loose monetary policy to provide more effective support for the real economy. This measure will vigorously boost consumption, alleviate the burdens of low- and middle-income groups, attract greater non-governmental capital participation in venture capital, and resolve the bottlenecks for the entry of medium- and long-term capital into the market.

Additionally, China will fully unleash the potential in people's demand for buying their first homes or improving their housing conditions, and implement employment support plans for key sectors and industries, urban and rural communities, and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Whether in terms of policy measures or key tasks, the overarching goal for China's economic work next year is clear: to drive sustained economic improvement and continuously improve people's living standards.

From the perspective of policy measures, China's shift to a moderately loose monetary policy has drawn great attention. After having a prudent monetary policy for 14 consecutive years, the country will implement a moderately loose monetary policy for the first time, which sends a clear and positive signal.

Foreign visitors shop at the Yiwu International Trade Market in Jinhua, east China's Zhejiang province, Nov. 26, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Hu Xiaofei)

China will also reduce the reserve requirement ratio and interest rates at an appropriate timing, which is to maintain ample liquidity, bring down overall financing costs for enterprises and residents, effectively address challenges for enterprises in financing, and accelerate credit growth to support the expansion of Chinese domestic demand.

Moreover, China will innovate financial instruments to enhance the central bank's function in macroprudential regulation and financial stability and keep the financial market stable. It will also guide and support financial institutions to make efforts in the areas of technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance, and digital finance. In particular, it will continue to strengthen support for scientific and technological innovation, green development and consumption finance, and adopt a more targeted approach to policy implementation.

When it comes to key tasks, "vigorously boosting consumption" shows that China is committed to leveraging consumption as a primary driver for economic growth.

The Chinese consumer market boasts vast room for expansion and enormous potential. Next year, the country will implement a special campaign dedicated to stimulating consumption, promote the large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs, innovate diversified consumption scenarios, and expand service consumption such as cultural tourism. These measures will further unleash China's consumption potential.

For instance, China has nearly 300 million citizens aged 60 or above. Next year, it will take a range of measures to improve the quality of life of its elderly people, such as raising the basic pensions for retirees, increasing basic old-age benefits, offering more elderly-friendly products and services, and developing the silver economy. These steps exemplify how economic development can benefit people's livelihoods.

As the next year marks the final year for implementing China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), it is necessary for China to do a good job in the economic work next year.

China will align the thoughts and actions with the spirit of Xi's speech and fully implement the guiding principles of its Central Economic Work Conference. It will make it a priority to get things done, strengthen confidence, face difficulties head-on, and work hard to transform all positive factors into actual achievements in development. This will enable the country to fulfill the goals and tasks in the 14th Five-Year Plan with high quality and lay a solid foundation for a good start of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).