Macroeconomic policies have been effective to boost the sustained economic recovery

The growth momentum of investment in new drivers is good, the pace of fiscal expenditure is accelerating, and the growth of money and credit is reasonable

Macroeconomic policies have been effective to boost the sustained economic recovery

Recently, the report card of China's economy in the first two months was announced, and with the macro combination policy to move forward, the national economy has achieved a stable start and steady growth.

In response to the recent investment, fiscal and financial related data and policy issues that are of general concern to all sectors of society, on March 21, the Information Office of the State Council held a press conference, at which the relevant responsible persons of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the People's Bank of China introduced the relevant situation and responded to social concerns.

Look at the investment

While achieving a smooth start, the structure is also continuously optimized

"Since the beginning of this year, the mainland has given full play to the amplification effect of government investment, actively supported social capital to participate in the construction of major projects, and focused on expanding profitable investment. Liu Sushe, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that from January to February, the national investment in fixed assets increased by 4.2% year-on-year, 1.2 percentage points faster than last year, and the overall investment increased by 8.9% after deducting real estate development investment.

While achieving a smooth start, the structure is also continuously optimized.

From January to February this year, the growth rate of manufacturing investment accelerated, with a year-on-year increase of 9.4%, and the growth rate was 5.2 percentage points higher than the overall investment, becoming an important support for stabilizing investment and stabilizing the economy. Among them, the investment in the equipment manufacturing industry increased by 14.3% year-on-year, and the investment in high-tech manufacturing increased by 10%, both of which were faster than the overall manufacturing investment growth rate.

"This shows that the pace of transformation and upgrading of the mainland's manufacturing industry is accelerating, the structure continues to be optimized, and the industry with high-tech, high-efficiency and high-quality characteristics is showing a trend of development. Liu Sushe said that behind the rapid growth of investment in equipment and high-tech manufacturing, there is not only the support and guidance of national policies, but also the confidence of enterprises in the future development.

From the perspective of production, from January to February, the added value of the equipment manufacturing industry above designated size increased by 8.6 percent, and the added value of the high-tech manufacturing industry increased by 7.5 percent, which was 1.6 and 0.5 percentage points higher than the added value of all industries above designated size, respectively.

From the perspective of economic benefits, in 2023, the profit of the mainland's equipment manufacturing industry will increase by 4.1%, 2.4 percentage points faster than that in 2022, providing strong support for the expansion of production and investment in related fields.

In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will strengthen the main position of enterprise innovation, lead industrial innovation with scientific and technological innovation, and promote the formation of an enterprise echelon led by leading enterprises leading by innovation, the rapid growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, and the continuous emergence of start-ups. Through these measures, we will accelerate the development of strategic emerging industries and continuously shape new momentum and new advantages for development.

Private investment is an important force to promote economic development and stabilize overall investment. In the first two months of this year, non-governmental investment on the mainland accounted for 52.6 percent of the total investment, an increase of 2.2 percentage points over last year.

"Since last year, we have introduced 17 policies and measures to promote private investment, promote the solution of the problems and demands of private enterprises, and vigorously create a good environment for the development of private investment. Liu Sushe said that relevant data show that as of February 29, a total of 1,612 projects have attracted private capital participation, with a total investment of more than 2 trillion yuan. In the first two months of this year, private investment in the mainland increased by 0.4 percent year-on-year. In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will take greater and more practical measures to promote the development of private investment, focus on stabilizing and expanding private investment, and strive to maintain the steady growth trend of private investment.

This year's "Government Work Report" proposes that starting from this year, it is planned to issue ultra-long-term special treasury bonds for several consecutive years, which will be specially used for the implementation of major national strategies and security capacity building in key areas. Liu Sushe revealed that in the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will focus on key areas such as scientific and technological innovation, urban-rural integration development, regional coordinated development, food and energy resource security, and high-quality population development, organize and carry out project planning and reserves, preliminary work and construction implementation, and support the construction of a number of high-quality projects.

Look at finances

Revenue continued to grow, and expenditure achieved forward momentum

Finance is the foundation and important pillar of national governance. "On the whole, in the first two months of this year, fiscal revenue continued to recover growth, and fiscal expenditure moved forward. Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min said.

Looking at revenue, the recovery growth trend continued and the start was stable. In the first two months, the national general public budget revenue was 4.46 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.3 percent, and after deducting the impact of special and incomparable factors, it actually increased by about 2.5 percent according to the comparable caliber, achieving restorative growth, which is basically consistent with the trend of macroeconomic stability and improvement.

Look at the expenditure, to achieve the forward force, the progress accelerated. In the first two months, the national general public budget expenditure increased by 6.7 percent year-on-year, completing 15.3 percent of the annual budget, and the expenditure progress was the fastest in the same period in the past five years.

Liao Min said that in the next step, the Ministry of Finance will combine the use of fiscal policy tools such as deficits, special bonds, ultra-long-term special treasury bonds, and tax incentives, and strengthen coordination with monetary, employment, industrial, regional, science and technology, environmental protection and other policies, so as to promote the economy to achieve qualitative and effective improvement and reasonable quantitative growth.

This year's "Government Work Report" proposes that the deficit rate will be arranged at 3%, and arrangements will be made for "the active fiscal policy should be moderately strengthened, and the quality and efficiency should be improved".

"Macroeconomic regulation and control requires the organic combination and joint action of a variety of tools. From the perspective of fiscal policy, the moderate afterburner is not only reflected in the deficit policy, but also includes a variety of policy tools such as special bonds, ultra-long-term special treasury bonds, and preferential taxes and fees. Liao Min explained that this year's deficit rate is arranged by 3%, and the deficit size is 4.06 trillion yuan, an increase of 180 billion yuan from the budget at the beginning of last year, and through the overall planning of various financial resources, the fiscal expenditure will reach 28.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.1 trillion yuan over last year, maintaining a high expenditure intensity.

Liao Min proposed that in addition, 3.9 trillion yuan of local government special bonds will be arranged this year, an increase of 100 billion yuan over last year, as well as 1 trillion yuan of ultra-long-term special national bonds, coupled with the implementation of structural tax and fee reduction policies, which will provide strong support for the realization of this year's economic and social development goals.

The deficit ratio is planned to be arranged at 3 percent, which coordinates stable growth and risk prevention, as well as needs and possibilities. "From 2018 to 2023, the mainland's fiscal deficit rate will be generally controlled within 3%. This year's deficit rate of 3 percent is also the result of comprehensive consideration of various factors. Liao Min said that on the whole, the level of debt of the mainland government is moderate, which is not only in line with the objective needs of promoting economic stability and improvement, but also conducive to achieving medium- and long-term fiscal sustainability.

Look at finance

The prudent monetary policy is flexible, moderate, precise and effective, helping to expand domestic demand and boost confidence

Monetary policy is an important means of macroeconomic regulation and control. Since the beginning of this year, how has the prudent monetary policy been effective and provided support for macroeconomic stability?

"Since the beginning of this year, the People's Bank of China has stepped up macroeconomic policy regulation and control, and the prudent monetary policy is flexible, moderate, precise and effective, focusing on expanding domestic demand and boosting confidence, creating a suitable monetary and financial environment for the economic rebound. Xuan Changneng, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, introduced.

In terms of aggregate volume, we should maintain a reasonable growth rate and a steady pace of monetary credit and financing. While flexibly arranging medium-term lending facilities (MLF) and open market operations, the reserve requirement ratio was cut by 0.5 percentage points at the beginning of the year, releasing long-term liquidity of about 1 trillion yuan, fully guaranteeing the supply of liquidity in terms of quantity.

In terms of structure, we continued to optimize the credit structure and focus on improving efficiency. Since the beginning of this year, the People's Bank of China has continued to implement re-lending to support carbon emission reduction, and the new 500 billion yuan of supplementary mortgage loans in December last year have been fully disbursed.

In terms of prices, we will promote a steady decline in the cost of comprehensive social financing and maintain the stability of the RMB exchange rate. In February, the prime interest rate (LPR) for loans with a maturity of more than 5 years fell by 0.25 percentage points, the largest decline since the LPR reform, effectively driving the continuous decline in loan interest rates.

Xuan Changneng said that since the beginning of this year, the monetary policy has achieved remarkable results, and the quality and efficiency of financial support for the real economy have continued to improve, mainly in the following aspects-

The total amount is growing reasonably. At the end of February, the stock of social financing on the mainland increased by 9% year-on-year, and the balance of broad money (M2) increased by 8.7% year-on-year. This is in line with the expected targets of economic growth and price levels, and reflects the countercyclical adjustment of monetary policy.

Support for key areas has been strengthened. At the end of February, inclusive small and micro loans increased by 23.1% year-on-year, and the medium- and long-term loans to the manufacturing industry and high-tech manufacturing loans increased by 28.3% and 26.5% year-on-year, respectively, and more financial resources flowed to key areas such as high-quality development.

Financing costs have fallen and exchange rates have stabilized. The weighted average interest rate of corporate loans in February was 3.72%, down 0.13 percentage points year-on-year, and the exchange rate of RMB against the US dollar has remained stable at around 7.2 yuan since February, taking into account the internal and external balance.

"It should be noted that the mainland's monetary policy has sufficient policy space and rich tool reserves, the statutory reserve ratio still has room to decline, the decline in deposit costs and the shift in monetary policy of major economies are conducive to broadening the autonomy of interest rate policy operations, and the establishment of scientific and technological innovation and technological transformation re-lending will help accelerate the development of high-end manufacturing and digital economy. Xuan Changneng said that in the next stage, the prudent monetary policy will continue to be flexible, moderate, precise and effective, while maintaining reasonable and abundant liquidity, promote the steady decline in corporate financing and household credit costs, and balance the relationship between short-term and long-term, steady growth and risk prevention, internal equilibrium and external equilibrium. (Reporter Han Xin)

Source: People's Daily