Speaker:
Mr. Ning Jizhe, vice chairman of National Development and Reform Commission and commissioner of the National Bureau of Statistics

Chair:
Hu Kaihong, spokesperson of the State Council Information Office

Date:
Oct. 10, 2017

Hu Kaihong:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference. China has made much headway in economic and social development since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held in 2012, attaching much attention.

Today, we are delighted to invite Mr. Ning Jizhe, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission and commissioner of the National Bureau of Statistics, to introduce China's progress in this regard. He will also answer some of your questions.

Now, let's welcome Mr. Ning to give a briefing.

Ning Jizhe:

Drastic changes have taken place in China and the world since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was held. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, much headway has been made in economic and social development. Important victories have been achieved in building a moderately prosperous society in all aspects, and the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new phase, laying a solid foundation for the fulfillment of the "Two Centenary Goals" and the dream of rejuvenating the Chinese nation.

1. Economic performance has remained within an appropriate range, with further enhancement of comprehensive national strength and international influence.

The economy has maintained medium-to-high speed of growth. From 2013 to 2016, the average annual growth of GDP was 7.2 percent, higher than the global average of 2.6 percent and the 4 percent growth achieved by the developing countries.This involved an average annual increment of 4.4413 trillion yuan (at 2015 constant prices).

In the first half of this year, the economy continued to make steady progress with sound momentum. The national GDP grew by 6.9 percent year-on-year, remaining within the range of 6.7 percent to 6.9 percent for eight consecutive quarters.

Ning Jizhe:

The employment rate continued to expand. From 2013 to 2016, newly employed people in urban areas was over 13 million for four years in a row and from January to August this year, the newly employed persons in urban areas was 9.74 million. From 2013 to 2016, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas for 31 big cities was on average around 5 percent and was 4.83 percent in September this year, the lowest since 2012. From 2013 to 2016, the total number of rural migrant workers grew by 1.8 percent annually on average and by the end of the second quarter this year, the number of rural migrant workers grew by 2.1 percent year-on-year.

Prices have been stable. From 2013 to 2016, the average annual growth of consumer prices was 2 percent. From January to August this year, the consumer price grew by 1.5 percent year-on-year. In the past few years, the average annual economic growth rate was 7.2 percent accompanied by a 2 percent inflation rate and 5 percent surveyed unemployment rate. Such economic operation featuring a high speed of growth, expanded employment and low prices is an outstanding achievement in the world.

China's comprehensive national strength continues to be enhanced. In 2016, China's GDP reached 74 trillion yuan, 1.32 times that in 2012 at constant prices; the general public budget revenue was almost 16 trillion yuan, 1.36 times of that in 2012; the output of a number of industrial and agricultural products, such as cereal, meat, peanut, steel and automobiles, ranked the first in the world; the length of high-speed railways reached 23,000 kilometers, ranking the first in the world; by the end of 2016, China's foreign exchange reserve exceeded US$3 trillion and by the end of August this year, the number reached US$3.09 trillion, continuously ranking the first in the world. In 2016, China's Gross National Income (GNI) per capita reached US$8,260. On the GNI per capita ranking of 216 countries (and regions) publicized by the World Bank, China moved up from 112nd in 2012 to 93rd in 2016.

International influence has also been notably enhanced. In 2016, China's GDP was US$11.2 trillion, accounting for 14.8 percent of the world economy, 3.4 percentage points higher than that in 2012, making China the second largest economy in the world. From 2013 to 2016, the contribution of China's economy to world economic growth stood at around 30 percent on average, surpassing the total contribution of the United States, Eurozone and Japan. China has become the biggest contributor to world economic growth.

Ning Jizhe:

2. The innovation-driven development strategy was deeply implemented and the shift from the old driving forces to the new ones accelerated.

Major breakthroughs were made in scientific and technological innovation which gained strong support from the government. In 2016, the expenditure on research and development (R&D) activities reached 1,567.7 billion yuan, an increase of 52.2 percent compared with 2012, and its ratio to GDP was 2.11 percent, 0.2 percentage points higher than that in 2012. A number of landmark achievements in science and technology, such as quantum communication, high-speed railway, manned spaceflight, lunar exploration program, radio telescope, giant aircraft, manned deep-sea submersible and super computer have steadily been achieved.

Business startups and innovation by the general public flourished. With the deepening of the reform of the business system and the reform to streamline administration, delegate more powers to lower-level government and society, improve regulation and optimize services, the multiplier effect of pooling the wisdom and strength of the public has unfolded.

From 2014 to 2016, there were over 44.00 million newly registered market entities nationwide, 13.62 million of which were newly registered enterprises, an annual average increase of 30 percent. From January to August this year, 3.99 million enterprises were newly registered, and in August 17,000 enterprises were newly registered per day.

The number of patent applications and authorizations has increased sharply. In 2016, the number of domestic and overseas patent applications and authorizations increased by 69.0 percent and 39.7 percent respectively compared with 2012.

China's development moved towards medium-to-high end. While the new driving forces grew rapidly and robustly, the transformation of traditional industries accelerated.

From 2015 to 2016, the online retail sales of physical goods increased by 28.6 percent annually on average, 18.1 percentage points faster than the total retail sales of consumer goods. From January to August this year, the online retail sales of physical goods increased by 29.2 percent year-on-year, 18.8 percentage points faster than the total retail sales of consumer goods. In 2016, express delivery services delivered 31.3 billion parcels, 5.5 times of that in 2012 and an annual average increase of 53.2 percent. From January to August this year, the number of parcels delivered by express delivery services increased by 30.2 percent year-on-year.

New business models, such as the platform economy, sharing economy and collaborative economy, were widely penetrated, and new types of business, such as on- and off-line interaction, cross-border e-commerce, smart home and smart communication, were burgeoning. Plans and initiatives such as "Made in China 2025" and "Internet Plus" were effectively implemented. From 2013 to 2016, the investment in industrial technological transformation grew by 13 percent annually on average, among which the investment in technological transformation of the manufacturing industry grew by14.3 percent.

Ning Jizhe:

3. Supply-side structural reform advanced steadily with accelerated transformation and upgrading.

The supply-side structural reform achieved remarkable results. The reduction of overcapacity went on well. In 2016, the production capacity of steel and coal were cut by over 65 million tons and over 290 million tons respectively, which exceeded the annual targets.

From January to July this year, the target for reducing the overcapacity of steel was reached; the production capacity of coal was reduced by 128 million tons, fulfilling 85 percent of the whole year's target. The efforts to reduce inventory were effective.

By the end of 2016, the floor space of commercial buildings for sale reduced by 3.2 percent year-on-year, which included an 11 percent reduction of the floor space of residential buildings for sale. By the end of August this year, the floor space of commercial buildings for sale reduced by 12 percent year-on-year.

The efforts to deleverage have made steady progress. By the end of 2016, the debt-to-asset ratio of industrial enterprises above the designated size was 55.8 percent, 0.4 percentage points less than the end of last year.

By the end of August this year, the debt-to-asset ratio of industrial enterprises above the designated size was 0.7 percentage points less than the same period last year.

The efforts to lower costs were noticeable. In 2016, the cost for per-hundred-yuan turnover of principal activities of industrial enterprises above the designated size was 85.52 yuan, 0.1 yuan less than the previous year. From January to August this year, the cost for per-hundred-yuan turnover of principal activities of industrial enterprises above the designated size was 0.12 yuan less than the same period last year. The efforts to strengthen these areas of weakness enjoyed remarkable success.

Investment in areas such as eco-environmental protection, agriculture, water conservancy, and strategic emerging industries increased rapidly, and major initiatives were undertaken which would help to meet urgent needs at the moment and promise long-term benefits. From January to August this year, the investment in management of public facilities, agriculture, and ecological protection and environmental governance increased by 24.3 percent, 16.1 percent, and 28.2 percent respectively.

The supply-side structural reform in agriculture was steadily pushed forward. In 2016, grain production reached 616.25 million tons, maintaining more than 0.6 trillion kilograms for four years in a row. The distribution of production became more concentrated in the most advantageous areas.

Ning Jizhe:

The service industry accounted for half of the national economy. In 2016, the value added of the tertiary industry took up 51.6 percent of GDP, 6.3 percentage points higher than that in 2012; in the first half of this year, the value added of the tertiary industry took up 54.1 percent of GDP. From 2013 to 2016, the value added of the service industry witnessed an average annual growth of 8.0 percent, 0.8 percentage points faster than the growth of GDP; in the first half of this year, the value added of the service industry increased by 7.7 percent year-on-year. The "Made in China 2025" Initiative was fully implemented and the industrial upgrading stepped up. From 2013 to 2016, the value added of equipment manufacturing and the high technology industry saw an average annual increase of 9.4 percent and 11.3 percent in real terms, 1.9 percentage points and 3.8 percentage points higher than the industry above the designated size. From January to August this year, the value added of equipment manufacturing and the high technology industry saw an increase of 11.4 percent and 13.0 percent year-on-year, 4.7 percentage points and 6.3 percentage points higher than the industry above the designated size.

Consumption became the major driving force for economic growth. From 2013 to 2016, the final consumption expenditure contributed to 55 percent of the economic growth annually on average, 8.5 percentage points higher than the capital formation, indicating that economic growth was driven by domestic demands. In the first half of this year, the final consumption expenditure contributed to 63.4 percent of the economic growth. In 2016, the ratio between the final consumption and GDP was 53.6 percent, 3.5 percentage points higher than that of 2012; the capital formation rate was 44.2 percent, 3 percentage points lower. The proportion between consumption and investment became more rational with domestic demands taking up a large share of the total economy.

The coordinated development of urban and rural areas assumed a new aspect. By the end of 2016, China's urbanization rate was 57.35 percent, 4.78 percentage points higher than that by the end of 2012. The equalization of public services in urban and rural areas improved steadily and the gap between urban and rural areas continued to narrow. In 2016, the income ratio between urban and rural areas was narrowed by 0.16 compared with 2012, and in the first half of this year the ratio was narrowed by 0.01 compared with the same period last year. New measures of the Four-Region Strategy, namely the development of the western region, the revitalization of the northeastern region, the rise of the central region and the leading role in development taken by the eastern region, were launched; the Three Initiatives of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Integration Initiative and the Yangtze Economic Belt Initiative were promoted; the Xiongan New Area was planned and established, and the national and regional central cities developed rapidly. All of these suggested new growth poles and belts were taking shape. From 2013 to 2016, the average growth rates for the eastern, central, western and northeastern regions were 8.2 percent, 8.7 percent, 9.2 percent and 5.3 percent and the per capita regional GDP ratio between the highest province and the lowest one was narrowed from 4.38:1 to 4.28:1.

Ning Jizhe:

4. Efforts in energy conservation and environmental protection were enhanced and ecological development was further strengthened.

Energy conservation and new energy development yielded new achievements. In 2016, energy and water consumption per unit of GDP decreased by 17.9 percent and 25.3 percent respectively compared with 2012. In the first half of 2017, energy consumption per unit of GDP was reduced by 3.9 percent year on year.

By the end of 2016, the installed capacity for nuclear power generation reached 33.64 million kilowatts, an increase of 167.6 percent over 2012; the grid-connected wind power generation capacity reached 147.47 million kw, an increase of 140.1 percent; and the grid-connected solar power generation capacity reached 76.31 million kw, a 21.4-fold increase.

Environmental protection and pollution control efforts have been significantly strengthened. In 2015, the chemical oxygen demand emissions decreased by 8.3 percent than 2012, ammonia emissions decreased by 9.3 percent, sulfur dioxide emissions dropped by 12.2 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions fell by 20.8 percent.

In 2016, 338 cities were monitored, among which 24.9 percent had standard air quality, 3.3 percentage points higher than 2015; and the density of fine particular matter (PM2.5) was 47 micrograms per cubic meter, down 6 percent from 2015. From January to August this year, the PM2.5 density in 338 cities at prefecture level and above fell 2.3 percent year on year.

Among offshore seawater quality monitoring sites, 73.4 percent met the national Class I or II standards for national ocean water quality in 2016, 4 percentage points higher than 2012, and 16.3 percent were classified as Class IV or Inferior Class IV, down 7.6 percentage points than 2012.

Ecological environmental governance achieved notable results. In 2016, the completed afforestation areas were 7.2 million hectares nationwide, an increase of 28.7 percent compared with 2012; an additional 5.62 million hectares was under soil erosion control, an increase of 28.6 percent compared with 2012. By the end of 2016, the urban household waste treatment rate was 96.6 percent, 11.8 percentage points higher; the green coverage rate of urban built-up areas was 36.4 percent, 0.7 percentage points higher. The comprehensive treatment capacity of the urban environment has increased.

Ning Jizhe:

5. "Bringing in" and "going global" both seen significant rises in scale, indicating a higher level of economic opening-up

Both imports and exports shifted from the old pattern of quantitative expansion to qualitative improvement. In 2016, the foreign trade of goods amounted to 24.3 trillion yuan, with the proportion in the world total remaining steady at over 11 percent. The trade structure was further optimized, with general trade occupying 55.1 percent of total volume in 2016, against the 52 percent in 2012. The figure was 56.8 percent for the period from January to August this year. In 2016, China's foreign trade in services amounted to US$657.5 billion, up 36.8 percent from 2012 with an average annual growth of 8.1 percent, ranking second in the world. Export of services with high added value saw robust growth, exemplified by the 40.4 percent and 38.1 percent increases in information services and advertising services respectively.

Inbound and outbound investment reached new levels. In the period from 2013 to 2016, China's aggregate of actually utilized foreign direct investment was US$489.4 billion, an average annual growth rate of 3.1 percent. The country's aggregate non-financial outbound direct investment was US$491.5 billion, or an average annual growth rate of 21.6 percent. Foreign direct investment in both directions improved in quality terms. China's service sector actually utilized 571.6 billion yuan of FDI in 2016, 8.3 percent more than last year and 86.1 percent of the total went to high-tech service entities.

The all-round opening up has created significant new development space. In 2016, China's foreign trade volume with Belt and Road countries hit 6.3 trillion yuan, accounting for 25.7 percent of the national total. In the period from January to August this year, exports to Belt and Road countries such as Russia, India and Malaysia expanded year-on-year by 24.1 percent, 23.7 percent, and 17.3 percent respectively. By the end of 2016, Chinese enterprises had set up 56 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones in Belt and Road countries with collective investment exceeding US$18.5 billion. In the January-August period this year, China invested US$8.55 billion in 52 Belt and Road countries, accounting for 12.4 percent of the outbound investment in the period, which is 4.3 percentage points higher than last year. A number of major projects and international industrial capacity cooperative projects were launched, with the "going global"efforts in high-speed railways and nuclear power making solid progress. The construction of free trade zones has also quickened.

Ning Jizhe:

6. People's livelihood improved remarkably, and economic development benefited all.

People's livelihood continued to improve. In 2016, the annual national per capita disposable income was 23,821 yuan, an increase of 7,311 yuan from 2012, with average annual growth of 7.4 percent. Per capita disposable income in the first half of 2017 increased by 7.3 percent in real term, 0.4 and 0.9 percentage point higher than GDP growth and per capita GDP growth respectively. Consumption upgrading continues to be promoted.

In 2016, the Engel coefficient reached 30.1 percent, a fall of 2.9 percentage points compared to 2012, which is close to the well-off standard of 20 percent to 30 percent set by the United Nations. The proportion of expenditure on communications, education and entertainment, and health care in total household expenditure was up by 2.0, 0.7 and 1.3 percentage points from the 2012 figures.

Great achievements have been made in targeted poverty reduction. According to the rural poverty line of annual per capita income of 2,300 yuan (at 2010 constant prices), in 2016, the rural population suffering from poverty was 43.35 million, a reduction of 55.64 million from 2012. And the poverty rate in 2016 was down to 4.5 percent, a fall of 5.7 percentage points compared to 2012. From 2013 to 2016, per capita disposable income in rural poor areas increased by an average rate of 10.7 percent annually in real term, 2.7 percentage points higher than overall rural personal income. The growth of farmer's income in poor areas is faster than that in the whole country.

Ning Jizhe:

The social security system has been established and improved. At the end of 2016, the number of people joining the basic old-age insurance, basic medical insurance for non-working urban residents, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation and maternity insurance increased by 99.80 million, 207.50 million, 28.64 million, 28.79 million and 30.22 million respectively as compared with that at the end of 2012.

Substantive progress was made in integrating the basic medical insurance schemes for rural and non-working urban residents. In 2016, the proportion of health care expenses borne by individuals dropped to less than 30 percent. The basic medical insurance system now covers all the population in general and a social security system covering urban and rural residents was basically established.

Social programs enjoyed comprehensive development. The education level of residents has kept rising. The average length of schooling of people over the age of 15 increased from 9.05 years in 2010 to 9.42 years in 2015. Medical and health conditions continued to improve. China's average life expectancy increased to 76.34 years in 2015 from 74.83 years in 2010. The infant mortality rate dropped from 10.3 per thousand in 2012 to 7.5 per thousand in 2016 and the maternal mortality rate dropped from 24.5 out of 100,000 to 19.9 out of 100,000. Cultural and sports programs have also accelerated.

In general, since the 18th CPC National Congress, and under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the Chinese people have risen to the challenge and worked hard to press ahead with an innovative and enterprising spirit, and made new contributions and impressive improvements in the course of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

At the next step, we will rally even closer around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, hold high the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, have every confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. We shall make persistent efforts with greater inspirations to push forward the great struggle, the great undertaking, the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and work with tireless dedication to achieve the "two centenary goals," and realize the Chinese dream of national renewal.

Hu Kaihong:

Thank you, Mr. Ning. Now, the floor is open for questions. Please identify your media outlet before stating your question.