On April 17, the Information Office of the State Council held a press conference in Beijing, at which Liu Sushe, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, Yuan Da, deputy secretary-general and director of the Department of National Economy, and Jin Xiandong, director of the Policy Research Office, interpreted the macroeconomic situation and policies and answered questions from reporters.
A total of 700 billion yuan has been allocated for investment in the central budget this year
More than 200 billion yuan has been issued
Liu Sushe said at the press conference that the economic operation in the first quarter continued to pick up and improve, the economic growth rate exceeded expectations, the economic structure continued to be optimized, the quality and efficiency improved, the employment price was basically stable, the overall market expectation improved, the overall social situation remained stable, and the economic and social development achieved a good start.
The Central Economic Work Conference has made important arrangements for expanding effective investment, and the government work report has also put forward the need to actively expand effective investment. The National Development and Reform Commission will conscientiously implement the plan, work with relevant parties to promote various investment work, give full play to the important role of government investment such as investment in the central budget, local government special bonds, and the issuance of additional treasury bonds in 2023, and actively expand effective investment. In the first quarter, the national investment in fixed assets increased by 4.5% year-on-year, 0.3 percentage points faster than that from January to February, and 1.5 percentage points faster than that of last year, showing a steady upward trend. Among them, investment in manufacturing and infrastructure increased by 9.9 percent and 6.5 percent respectively, maintaining a relatively rapid growth rate, while private investment increased by 0.5 percent and the growth rate further rebounded, accounting for 51.6 percent of the total investment. Specifically, the following measures have been taken:
First, it is necessary to speed up the issuance of investment plans within the central budget. A total of 700 billion yuan has been allocated for investment in the central budget this year. The National Development and Reform Commission, together with all relevant parties, insists on paying equal attention to quality and efficiency, strengthens project reserves and preliminary work, and organizes the preparation of investment plans. Up to now, more than 200 billion yuan has been allocated in the central budget investment plan, accounting for more than 30% of the annual total.
The second is to complete the preliminary screening of local government special bond projects. This year's special bond scale is 3.9 trillion yuan. Previously, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) appropriately expanded the scope of special bonds and industries to be used as project capital. Recently, in accordance with the division of responsibilities for special bonds, the National Development and Reform Commission has checked the investment areas and preliminary work of local projects, and completed the preliminary screening of special bond projects this year, which has been pushed to the Ministry of Finance and fed back to the localities. On the whole, the number of projects that have passed the preliminary screening is sufficient and the capital demand is large, which has laid a solid project foundation for the issuance and use of special bonds throughout the year. We will work with relevant parties to form a final list of projects to be prepared as soon as possible, urge local governments to speed up the issuance and use of bonds, and promote the formation of more physical workload for projects.
The third is to accelerate the construction and implementation of additional treasury bond issuance projects in 2023. In February this year, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) completed the issuance of all three batches of projects with a total of 1 trillion yuan of additional treasury bonds, and implemented the additional treasury bond issuance funds to about 15,000 specific projects. At present, we have completed the first batch of supervision work in 12 provinces, and other provinces have also carried out self-inspection, and the second and third batches of supervision will be organized during the year.
This year, we will issue 1 trillion yuan of ultra-long-term special treasury bonds
Focus on accelerating the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance
Liu Sushe said that in terms of support areas, the ultra-long-term special treasury bonds focus on accelerating the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-reliance, promoting the integrated development of urban and rural areas, promoting regional coordinated development, improving the security and security of food and energy resources, promoting high-quality population development, and comprehensively promoting the construction of a beautiful China.
The 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 said that at present, the National Development and Reform Commission and relevant departments have studied and drafted an action plan to support the country's major national strategies and security capacity building in key areas, and will begin to organize and implement it after approval and consent.
Liu Sushe said that the plan adheres to goal-oriented and precise breakthroughs, concentrates on supporting a number of important and difficult things that are related to modernization, urgently needed for development, have been wanted to do for many years but have not been able to do, and need to be promoted at the central level, adhere to high-quality development and high-level security and benign interaction, and consolidate the foundation for national security and long-term development; adhere to the overall planning of hard investment and soft construction, use reform methods and innovative ideas to break down deep-seated obstacles; adhere to step-by-step implementation and orderly advancement, and issue 1 trillion yuan of ultra-long-term special treasury bonds in 2024.
Liu Sushe said that the National Development and Reform Commission will take the lead in conjunction with relevant departments to effectively strengthen overall coordination, do a good job in financial guarantees, optimize investment methods, and increase supervision, especially to build a number of projects with mature and qualified preliminary work as soon as possible, and will also step up efforts to promote the introduction and implementation of relevant supporting policies to ensure that the tasks specified in the action plan are high-quality and effective.
The mainland's economic operation is steadily rising, making steady progress, and improving steadily
At the press conference, Yuan Da said that since the beginning of this year, China's economy has continued to pick up and improve, achieving a steady start and a good start. From the analysis of the data that has been mastered so far, it is mainly manifested as "three haves", that is, there is a steady increase, a steady progress, and a steady improvement.
First, the growth rate of major economic indicators has risen steadily. Economic growth has improved, with GDP growing by 5.3% year-on-year and 1.6% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter, an increase of 0.1 and 0.4 percentage points respectively from the previous quarter. Industrial production has accelerated, and the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.1 percent year-on-year, an increase of 1.5 percentage points over last year. Investment and exports grew relatively well, with investment in fixed assets increasing by 4.5 percent, an increase of 1.5 percentage points over last year, and exports of goods denominated in renminbi increasing by 4.9 percent, an increase of 4.3 percentage points over last year.
Second, there has been steady progress in economic restructuring. The industrial structure has been steadily improving, the transformation of old and new kinetic energy has accelerated, and the manufacturing industry has developed rapidly, with a year-on-year increase of 6.7% in the first quarter, of which the added value of high-tech manufacturing industry increased by 7.5%; the development of emerging industries has accelerated, with the output of 3D printing equipment and service robots increasing by 40.6% and 26.7% respectively; the development of producer services has accelerated, and the added value of information transmission, software and information technology services has increased by 13.7%, an increase of 2.5 percentage points over the previous quarter. The "troika" has become more coordinated, and the main driving force of domestic demand has continued to appear, with the contribution rate of domestic demand in the first quarter being 85.5%, while the contribution rate of net exports has strengthened, and the contribution rate of external demand has changed from -3.1% in the previous quarter to 14.5%.
Third, the efficiency of enterprises, employment income, and market expectations have improved steadily. In the first two months, the total profits of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 10.2 percent year-on-year. Employment income increased steadily, and the surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in March, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month and the same period last year. In the first quarter, the per capita disposable income of residents nationwide grew by 6.2 percent in real terms, continuing to outpace the economic growth rate. The market is expected to be stable and good, the manufacturing purchasing managers' index in March was 50.8%, an increase of 1.7 percentage points from the previous month, and returned to the expansion range after five months, of which the expected index of production and business activities of manufacturing enterprises was 55.6%, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the previous month, and the non-manufacturing business activity index was 53%, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from the previous month.
Overall, China's economy got off to a good start in the first quarter, laying a solid foundation for achieving its full-year target. With the continuous effectiveness of the various policies and measures introduced and implemented in the early stage, and the implementation of new tasks and measures deployed by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, China's economic recovery will continue to consolidate, and we are more confident and confident to complete the annual goals and tasks with high quality.
"If there are more export goods, there will be overcapacity"
This view is untenable
In response to the current "overcapacity" problem that many parties are focusing on, Jin Xiandong said that from the historical data, the quarterly fluctuation of capacity utilization rate is a normal phenomenon, usually speaking, the capacity utilization rate in the first quarter is relatively low, and the fourth quarter is relatively high, which is related to factors such as the Spring Festival holiday.
Jin Xiandong said that from the perspective of historical trends, the capacity utilization rate is expected to gradually rebound in the next few quarters. At the same time, he said that it is necessary to proceed from the economic law and look at this phenomenon objectively and dialectically; under the conditions of a market economy, the balance between supply and demand is relative, the imbalance is universal, and a moderate excess of production over demand is conducive to market competition and the survival of the fittest.
In response to some of the current views linking overcapacity to international trade, believing that "more export commodities is overcapacity", Kim Hyun-dong responded that this view is untenable.
"China imports a large number of chips, aircraft, soybeans, crude oil and other commodities every year, so are the exporting countries of these commodities overcapacity?" Jin Xiandong said, in the context of economic globalization, supply and demand are global, and the production capacity of each country is determined by its industrial comparative advantages. Only by strengthening cooperation can all countries in the world seek common development.
For example, Jin Xiandong said that according to the International Energy Agency's estimates, the global demand for new energy vehicles in 2030 will be more than three times the global sales in 2023. In the process of promoting green and low-carbon transformation and development, new energy fields such as electric vehicles contain massive market demand, which will be a common opportunity for the development of all countries. The sustainable development of China's new energy industry and the continuous provision of high-quality production capacity not only meet its own high-quality development needs, but also make important contributions to the global response to climate change and green and low-carbon transformation.
Emphasizing the public welfare attributes of franchise projects
Put an end to the phenomenon of "sky-high franchise transfer fees".
In response to the problem of non-standard project implementation, Liu Sushe said that the newly revised "Measures for the Administration of Infrastructure and Public Utilities Concessions" improves the regulations from multiple perspectives such as the scope of the franchise concept, project management, and strict performance, and strives to improve the quality and efficiency of the project. The first is to clean up the source, emphasize the public welfare attributes of the franchise project, make it clear that the franchise does not set up a new administrative license, and there is an essential difference between the franchise and the commercial franchise, and put an end to the phenomenon of "sky-high franchise transfer fees". The second is to clarify the rights and responsibilities, clarify the responsibilities of the central and local governments, and the division of labor between departments, further rationalize the investment management procedures, clearly define the scope of user payment, improve the price adjustment mechanism, and require special funds. The third is to strengthen supervision, increase penetrating supervision and notification of major events, improve the whole life cycle supervision, increase the complaint handling system, improve the dispute resolution system, and urge the government and enterprises to standardize the performance of their obligations.
In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will work with relevant parties to effectively implement the newly revised "Management Measures", promote the quality and efficiency of franchise projects, and continuously stimulate the vitality of private investment.
Promote consumption from post-pandemic recovery to continuous expansion
Actively cultivate new consumption hotspots such as smart homes
In response to how to view the consumer market situation of the record high tourism popularity during the Qingming holiday after the ice and snow economy, and how to cultivate new consumption growth points, Jin Xiandong said that since the beginning of this year, the mainland consumer market has generally recovered well. From the "ice and snow economy" at the beginning of the year, to the "New Year's flavor economy" during the Spring Festival, and then to the current "holiday economy", new consumption hotspots and new trends are constantly emerging, which continues to drive steady growth in consumption.
Looking forward to the whole year, driven by the policy of expanding domestic demand and promoting consumption, various localities and fields will continue to innovate consumption scenarios and optimize the consumption environment, and the positive factors supporting consumption growth are increasing, and consumption is expected to maintain a steady upgrade and steady improvement development trend. The National Development and Reform Commission will further play the role of the Inter-Ministerial Joint Conference on Improving the System and Mechanism for Promoting Consumption, coordinate the implementation of policies and measures to promote consumption by various departments and localities, and promote consumption from post-epidemic recovery to continuous expansion. The focus is on grasping three aspects of work.
First, it is necessary to stabilize employment and increase income, and earnestly improve residents' consumption capacity. We will thoroughly implement the employment priority policy, organize and carry out a three-year action to promote youth employment, increase support for returning to their hometowns to start businesses, and do everything possible to stabilize and promote employment. At the same time, we will improve the mechanism for adjusting the minimum wage standard, promote a reasonable and steady increase in residents' wage income, and increase the property income of urban and rural residents through multiple channels.
The second is to expand demand and optimize supply, and continue to create new growth points for consumption. Encourage market demand and consumer demand as the guide, cultivate and create new consumption scenarios and new business formats. Support the development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, and actively cultivate new consumption hotspots such as smart homes, cultural and entertainment tourism, sports events, and domestic "trendy products". At the same time, cooperate with relevant departments to actively do a good job in the trade-in of consumer goods.
The third is to value rights and interests and keep the bottom line, and strive to create a safe consumption environment. It is mainly to cooperate with relevant departments to continue to improve the consumer complaint and rights protection mechanism, accelerate the formation of a closed loop of the assured consumption system, strengthen consumer supervision and law enforcement, standardize online transactions, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
Accelerate the legislative process of the "Private Economy Promotion Law".
The demand for equal treatment of state-owned enterprises and private enterprises has been put down
Yuan Da said in response to questions about the private economy that the current development of private enterprises is still facing some difficulties and pain points, and the National Development and Reform Commission and relevant parties have gone all out to promote the solution of the urgent and difficult problems of private enterprises. On the one hand, strengthen the vertical up and down linkage. Establish a working mechanism for normalized communication and problem solving with private enterprises, mobilize the development and reform departments at the national, provincial, municipal, and county levels, and normalize the collection, resolution, feedback, and follow-up of the problems reflected by private enterprises, and strive to make private enterprises feel and gain. On the other hand, strengthen horizontal overall coordination. Establish a working mechanism for the inter-ministerial joint conference to promote the development and growth of the private economy, and work with 42 departments and units to solve problems. As of the end of March this year, our committee has collected the demands and suggestions of private enterprises through a variety of channels, and after deducting the duplication and untruthfulness, about 560 items, and about 300 items have been handled and further tracked, striving to solve a class of problems, benefit a group of enterprises, and help an industry.
Recently, we organized and convened the first plenary session of the National Conference on Optimizing the Business Environment and the Inter-Ministerial Joint Conference on Promoting the Development and Growth of the Private Economy to deploy key tasks in 2024.
In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will further intensify its work, do a good job in overall coordination, and highlight three aspects of work. The first is to strengthen the protection of the rule of law. Accelerate the legislative process of the "Private Economy Promotion Law", constantly improve the system and mechanism of adhering to the "two unswerving", speed up the system and law to reduce the requirements for equal treatment of state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, and effectively give play to the role of the rule of law in consolidating the foundation, stabilizing expectations, and benefiting the long-term. The second is to effectively solve the problems of enterprises. Build and make good use of the comprehensive service platform for the development of the private economy, form a joint force and implement a closed loop of collection, handling, feedback, tracking and efficiency, strengthen the coordination and resolution of common problems restricting the development of the private economy, highlight typical problems, and effectively achieve the goal of securing, protecting, stabilizing and benefiting enterprises. The third is to continue to create a good atmosphere. Implement the normalized communication and exchange mechanism, regularly organize and convene on-site meetings to promote the development and growth of the private economy, thoroughly implement the cultivation and empowerment plan for private economic personnel in the new era, summarize and promote the typical experience and practices of promoting the high-quality development of the private economy in various places, and actively create a good environment to encourage and support the development of the private economy. According to the website of the State Council Information Office
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