Economic planner releases prioritized actions in 2024

This photo taken on Jan. 11, 2023 shows employees working at a factory of Lotus Cars in an industrial park of the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), on Thursday pledged an array of measures in 2024 and beyond to spur high-quality development.

The NDRC held a press conference to interpret the macroeconomic climate and policies a day after official data showed that China's gross domestic product grew 5.2 percent year on year in 2023, beating the growth target and hitting a record high.

Liu Sushe, deputy head of the NDRC, told the briefing that despite headwinds, favorable conditions are stronger than adverse factors for the Chinese economy in 2024.

"Overall, the basic trajectory of China's economic recovery and long-term growth remains unchanged. An open China will continue to bring more opportunities for cooperation to the world. We have full confidence in the bright future of the Chinese economy," he said.

At the press conference, Liu and his colleagues announced some of the NDRC's priorities in securing improvement in quality and a reasonable increase in quantity.

China will work to develop new consumption growth points such as smart homes, sports events, domestic products, and "China-chic" goods. Efforts will also go into boosting spending on big-ticket items and improving the consumption environment.

In expanding effective investment, more support will go towards core technologies in key fields, new infrastructure, energy conservation, and decarbonization.

Meanwhile, the NDRC will push ahead with the legislation to promote private sector development and enshrine the equal status of state-owned enterprises and private businesses in law.

The commission will ensure the implementation of policies supporting the private sector, encourage more private investment in the country's salient projects, and back private companies in their research and development in key and core technologies.

The NDRC will make efforts to hear the voices of private firm owners and have their problems solved.

As China's new energy vehicle (NEV) sector has grown into a robust pillar to underpin economic growth, the commission will move to optimize policies to promote NEV consumption.

The commission will deepen NEV development in rural areas, promote the electrification of vehicles in public transportation, continue to establish a high-quality charging infrastructure system, and boost sci-tech innovation in the NEV sector.

As for foreign investors, the NDRC, together with relevant departments, will promptly introduce relevant policies, including revising a nationwide negative list for foreign investment entry and removing all restrictions on foreign investment entry in the manufacturing sector.

China will address issues related to land and sea use, environmental impact assessment, energy consumption, and other issues related to project implementation at the national level and speed up the implementation of primary foreign-invested projects.

In addition, the NDRC will engage in a series of activities to promote international industrial investment and develop a business match-making platform to connect multinationals and investment destinations.

The state planner will collaborate with other departments to strengthen the consistency of macroeconomic policy orientation and include non-economic policies in assessing macroeconomic policy consistency to ensure these policies form synergies.