Chen Wenjun:

Thank you, Mr. Wang. Now, the floor is open for questions. Please identify the news agency you represent before asking questions.

Reuters:

According to the Central Economic Work Conference, China will implement its 2024 fiscal policy by appropriately strengthening it to improve quality and effectiveness. I would like to ask, how does the MOF assess the trend of fiscal revenue and expenditure this year? How can fiscal policy effectively support the economic recovery? Thanks.

Wang Dongwei:

Thank you for your questions. As you mentioned, the Central Economic Work Conference set a clear goal for strengthening counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustment of macro policies and implementing a proactive fiscal policy by appropriately strengthening it to improve its effectiveness.

Appropriately strengthening the proactive fiscal policy involves four aspects. First, China will maintain an appropriate level of fiscal spending, sending a positive signal. Second, China will rationally arrange the scale of government investment, spurring more investments and amplifying their effects. Third, China will improve transfer payments to further equalize access to basic public services, ensuring basic living needs, salary payments, and normal government expenditures at the primary level. Fourth, China will optimize and adjust tax policies to make them more precise, targeted and effective.

Improving the effectiveness of the proactive fiscal policy focuses on six aspects: tightening the government's belt, improving the composition of government spending, strengthening performance-based management, tightening financial discipline, boosting fiscal sustainability, and strengthening policy coordination. We will improve fiscal management in a sound, standardized, and law-based manner. We will ensure that every cent is used where it is needed most, and that the same amount of spending creates the greatest benefit.

We will work with a focus on the following seven priorities:

First, we will expedite our efforts to modernize the industrial system. On the one hand, we will make full use of policy instruments such as government subsidy policies, loan interest subsidy policies, and preferential tax treatment to tackle vexing issues in terms of basic products, core technologies, and key software, especially in key industrial chains such as the new generation of information technology and integrated circuits. On the other hand, we will fully leverage the guiding role of government investment, such as funds to support the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing sector and industrial investment in advanced manufacturing. We will find market-based solutions to encourage non-government capital to invest in key manufacturing areas and open up new industrial sectors.

Second, we will vigorously boost domestic demand in two ways: investment and consumption. In terms of investment, we will expand investments that generate good returns. We will fully harness related government bonds, continue to issue a certain amount of local government special-purpose bonds, and rationally expand investment within the central government budget, giving full play to government investment's guiding and leveraging role. In terms of consumption, we will inject new impetus into consumption. In 2024, we will follow the trend of upgrading consumption by citizens, forge new drivers of growth in culture, tourism, education, and elderly care, enhance adjustment measures such as social security and transfer payments, increase incomes of urban and rural residents, and encourage consumer spending and improve spending power.

Third, we will further implement our strategies for invigorating China through science and education. We will step up investment in education and ensure the implementation of the requirement that government budgetary spending on education remains no less than 4% of GDP. Additionally, we will guarantee that education spending allocated through the government's general budget and the average education spending allocated per student continue to increase, promoting the development of a high-quality education system. We will fully support the achievement of breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, meet the funding needs of major national science and technology projects, and make efforts to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology.

Fourth, we will support efforts to ensure and improve people's well-being. We will implement the employment priority policy, coordinate and make good use of policies on tax and fee reductions, social insurance premiums and loan interest subsidies, and support startups and employment through multiple channels. We will improve the multi-tiered and categorized social assistance system. At the same time, we will enhance budget management and channel more financial resources toward lower levels of government to maintain basic living needs, salary payments and normal government functioning, ensuring the bottom line at the primary level.

Fifth, we will step up efforts to promote comprehensive rural revitalization. We will support the implementation of a new drive to increase annual grain production capacity by 50 million metric tons, enhance investment in high-standard cropland development, ensure the incomes of grain growers, and improve the reward policy for major grain-producing counties. Another important step is to expand the scope of the full cost insurance policy and planting income insurance policy for the three major staple food crops to achieve full nationwide coverage. We will improve the ability to ensure food security, as part of our major work in implementing the national food security strategy of food crop production based on farmland management and technological application. At the same time, we must make good use of bridging funds from the central government to strengthen industrial and employment assistance, and support the consolidation and expansion of poverty alleviation achievements. What's more, we will learn and utilize the experience of the Green Rural Revival Program  to advance rural development according to local conditions.

Sixth, we will promote urban-rural development and regional development . We will vigorously promote new urbanization and support local governments in granting permanent urban residency to eligible people who move from rural to urban areas. We will further improve fiscal and tax policies that support major national strategies for regional development, and increase support for regions with unique features such as old revolutionary base areas, areas with large ethnic minority populations, and border areas.

Seventh, we will support efforts to strengthen ecological conservation. We will maintain investment, improve fiscal and tax policies, cultivate the endogenous driving force for green and low-carbon transformation and development, and promote the construction of Beautiful China pilot zones.

That's all from me. Thank you.