Stable outlook: Workers building the structure of a blast furnace in Huaian in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. Experts estimate the country’s economy will likely expand by around 5% next year. — AFP
BEIJING: China is confident and capable of reaching this year’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of around 5%, and policymakers have ample tools to stabilise the economy next year, officials and experts say.
Experts estimated China’s economy will likely expand by around 5% next year as well, given strong policy support and gradual recovery of domestic demand.
Policymakers need to take both short-and long-term measures to boost growth, stimulate market vitality and foster new growth drivers, they said.
“The country has the conditions and capabilities to meet its economic and social development objectives for 2023 as China’s economic recovery continues to gather steam and a series of policies take effect gradually,” said Li Chao, a spokeswoman for the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic regulator.
In the next step, the NDRC will closely monitor changes in economic operations, strengthen situation analysis and policy research, and intensify macroeconomic regulation.
Primary focus will be placed on the forthcoming year’s key growth targets, she told a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday.
Li highlighted the commission’s commitment to reinforcing policy reserves and ensuring a robust arsenal of policy tools to effectively respond to diverse risks and challenges that may arise.
According to the commission, China has unveiled the first batch of nearly 2,900 projects, using funds raised through the additional one trillion yuan (US$140bil) worth of sovereign bonds, which were announced in October for issue in the fourth quarter.
The projects are mainly in fields like post-disaster recovery reconstruction, improvements to disaster prevention and reduction capability, and construction of high-standard farmland.
During the National Development and Reform Work Conference held from last weekend, the NDRC said it will formulate targeted measures to bolster the economy, and more efforts will be made to further boost the development of the private sector and encourage its participation in key national-level engineering projects and other projects aimed at addressing the weak links in the economy.
Amid China’s push to seek private investment in thousands of local government projects through a national unified platform this year, the private sector has participated in 1,490 such projects worth 1.9 trillion yuan in all, NDRC data showed.
According to the conference, the commission will continue to carry out mid-term evaluation of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), and has begun its preliminary work on the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).
Wang Yiming, vice-chairman of the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, said most institutions forecast China’s GDP will rise by around 5.2% this year, significantly higher than that of major economies, including the United States, the eurozone and Japan.
“China remains the most powerful engine for global growth, contributing over 30% of global economic growth,” Wang said at a seminar of the China Macroeconomy Forum, or CMF, a think tank of the Renmin University of China.
Looking ahead, he said China still has plenty of room to step up fiscal and monetary policy support next year, as the central government’s debt level is not high and consumer price levels are low.
Wang said he still sees many new growth opportunities in fields like green transition and new urbanisation, adding China has the conditions to achieve 5% GDP growth next year as well.
Liu Xiaoguang, a professor at the Renmin University of China’s National Academy of Development and Strategy, said the CMF has revised upward its 2024 China GDP forecast to 5% from 4.8%, and it is advisable for the country to set next year’s growth target at 5% at least. — China Daily/ANN
