Press conference: China's economic, social development

Speakers:

Mr. He Lifeng, secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group and minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)

Mr. Zhang Yong, vice minister of the NDRC

Mr. Ning Jizhe, vice minister of the NDRC

Chairperson:

Guo Weimin, spokesperson for the 19th CPC National Congress and deputy director of the State Council Information Office

Date:

Oct. 21, 2017

Guo Weimin:

Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good afternoon. Welcome to the fourth in the series of press conferences held at the Press Center of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

This afternoon, we have with us: Mr. He Lifeng, the secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group and the minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC); Mr. Zhang Yong, the vice minister of the NDRC; and Mr. Ning Jizhe, who is also a vice minister of the NDRC. They will introduce the work related to promoting the stable, sound and sustainable development of China's economy under the new development philosophy. They will also answer some of your questions.

Now, I'll give the floor to Mr. He Lifeng.

He Lifeng:

The National Reform and Development Commission (NRDC) is in charge of macro-control of the general economy. The report delivered at the opening session of the 19th CPC National Congress contains a large proportion addressing economic work, which summarized the economic growth and social development in the past five years, analyzed the current economic situation and made plans for the major tasks in the future. We are seriously reviewing the report. In retrospect of the economic and social development since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the firm leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, confronted with severe and complicated domestic and international environments, we have adhered to the philosophy of people-centered development, remained committed to the underlying principle of making progress while keeping performance stable, implemented the new vision of development, advanced the supply-side structural reform, continuously created and improved macro-control measures, comprehensively deepened the economic structural reform, promoted concerted development between regions and between urban and rural areas, steadily improved the openness of the economy and advanced the program of building a beautiful China. Through the above-mentioned efforts, we have maintained stable, healthy and sustained economic and social development with remarkable achievements. I will give detailed introductions of three such achievements.

In regard to economic growth, against the backdrop of a sluggish global economic recovery, the Chinese economy registered an average annual growth rate of 7.2 percent in the past four years. China's aggregate economic output steadily increased to 74 trillion yuan in 2016 from 54 trillion yuan in 2012. This year, the economy has maintained stability while making steady progress. It is expected to achieve the growth target of 6.5 percent for the year, and may even report a better outcome. It is predicted that the aggregate economic output at the end of this year will reach more than 80 trillion yuan. Over the years, the Chinese economy has maintained a medium-high growth rate, remaining one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world. China represents 15 percent of the global economy and is the biggest contributor to global growth with a proportion of over 30 percent every year.

In regard to raising the quality of development, over the past five years China's economic structure has been undergoing adjustment and optimization. Consumption has outweighed investment in terms of demand structure and the tertiary accounted for more than the secondary industry in terms of industrial structure. As a result, the consumption and service sectors have better buttressed economic growth. In the first three quarters of this year, consumption made a 64.5 percent contribution to economic growth, with the service sector accounting for 52.9 percent. With regional development being reshaped and improved and a new type of urbanization making solid progress, the number of permanent urban residents has increased to 57.35 percent of the total population. The old growth drivers have been replaced with new ones in an orderly manner, and new technologies, new industries, new models and new businesses have kept emerging one after another. The contribution of scientific and technological progress to economic growth rose to 56.2 percent in 2016, and the expenses on research and development reached 1.55 trillion yuan.

In regard to people's lives, we have scored eye-catching achievements in employment and poverty alleviation. We have boosted employment through promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, creating more than 13 million new urban jobs annually for four consecutive years. And the figure was 10.97 million in the first nine months of this year. During the fight against poverty, the indigent population was reduced by more than 55 million in the past four years, and this year will see a further 10 million-plus reduction. The incidence of poverty dropped to 4.5 percent by the end of 2016 and is expected to lower to less than 4 percent by the end of this year. Meantime, more than 5.8 million people were relocated from inhospitable areas. Looking at the history of world civilizations, only under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and under the socialist system have we been able to make such outstanding achievements.

One doesn't know the difficulty of an undertaking unless one does it personally. The achievements in the past five years resulted from the strong leadership of and scientific decisions made by the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and are also attributable to the fact that people of all ethnic groups across the country have been mobilized to overcome obstacles and forge ahead in an active and concerted effort. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee has focused on the principal contradiction facing economic and social development and the principal factors of this contradiction. It has mapped out an economic policy framework after sizing up the situation in the context of a long economic cycle and the global political and economic environment. This framework, which has played a key role in promoting economic growth, can be summarized in the following aspects.

The CPC Central Committee made the major judgment that China is in a "new normal" of economic development; adopted the vision of innovative, coordinated, green, open and inclusive development and focused on supply-side structural reform; followed the work style of seeking truth from facts and upheld the principle of making progress while keeping performance stable. This economic policy framework, with a vision of both the short-term and long-term interests, has integrated a problem-oriented approach with a goal-oriented approach and includes both top-level planning and concrete practices. With scientific planning and effective implementation, it has been welcome by the whole society and tackled the problems efficiently, and therefore the expectation for the development of the Chinese economy remains positive.

At the same time, we also realized that there are still many contradictions and challenges facing China's economic and social development, which we need to address seriously. The report delivered at the opening session of the 19th National Congress pointed out that the principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved in the new era. To accomplish the goals set in the report, which are to finish the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020, to fundamentally realize socialist modernization by 2035 and by 2050 to develop China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful, we need to focus on the following aspects:

We need to comprehensively study and implement the guiding principles of the 19th CPC National Congress; analyze the new symptoms and problems emerging in regard to the principal contradiction during different developmental stages and periods of society; correctly grasp the principal contradiction facing economic and social development and the principal factors of this contradiction; continue to create new methods of macro regulation and improve existing ones; and put forward targeted solutions in a timely manner, so as to ensure that development becomes better in quality, more efficient, more equitable, and more sustainable.

Guo Weimin:

Thanks to Mr. He for his brief introduction. We now move to the Q&A session. Please identify the media outlet you represent before raising your question.