In the past week, we have selected the following 10 noteworthy political and economic news for you, including tax anti-corruption, falling housing prices in large and medium-sized cities, Guangzhou's first ticket for urban village renovation, and Shanghai's creation of a "giant" science and technology innovation platform.
Let's take a closer look at the stories and trends behind these events.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, preliminary calculations show that the GDP in the first quarter was 296299 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.3% at constant prices, and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 1.6% over the fourth quarter of last year. By industry, the added value of the primary industry was 1,153.8 billion yuan, up by 3.3 percent year-on-year, the added value of the secondary industry was 109846 billion yuan, up by 6.0 percent, and the added value of the tertiary industry was 174915 billion yuan, up by 5.0 percent.
In terms of different industries, animal husbandry developed steadily, in industry, the growth of high-tech manufacturing industry accelerated, up by 7.5 percent, and in terms of service industry, modern service industry grew rapidly.
Sheng Lai, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics, used four key words to evaluate the economic operation data in the first quarter: "continuous rebound", "steady start", "steady progress" and "good start".
Interpretation: The government work report at the beginning of the year set the expected development target of GDP growth of about 5%, and according to the economic data of the first quarter, the start was steady and rising, reflecting that China's economy still has the characteristics of strong resilience, great potential and vitality. The Asian Development Bank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and many other international financial institutions have also raised their forecasts for China's economic growth this year.
On April 12, the People's Bank of China released data showing that RMB loans increased by 9.46 trillion yuan in the first quarter, and the cumulative increase in the scale of social financing was 12.93 trillion yuan, both at a high level in the same period in history, but the growth rate decreased year-on-year. In the first quarter, household deposits increased by 8.56 trillion yuan, and based on the country's 1.4 billion people, the per capita savings were about 6,114 yuan.
Interpretation: In recent years, the balance of deposits of mainland households has shown an overall upward trend, and has risen for five consecutive months since October last year. Residents' willingness to deposit continues to rise, triggering the tightening of five-year and three-year large-value certificates of deposit in many banks, and the market is "hard to find".
From April 15th to 16th, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission successively notified two cadres of the tax system who were suspected of serious violations of law and discipline and were subject to review and investigation: Shi Peng, former director of the Jiangsu Provincial Taxation Bureau of the State Administration of Taxation, and Zeng Zhongtao, former member of the Party Committee and chief accountant of the Fujian Provincial Taxation Bureau of the State Administration of Taxation.
Interpretation: China's anti-corruption adheres to a zero-tolerance attitude of no forbidden areas, full coverage, and zero tolerance. As a law enforcement department, tax cadres often deal with taxpayers, and the risk of integrity is high. So far in 2023, 9 cadres in the tax system have been suspected of serious violations of law and discipline and are under review and investigation.
On April 16, the National Bureau of Statistics released the changes in the sales prices of commercial housing in 70 large and medium-sized cities in March 2024.
In terms of second-hand housing, prices in 69 cities fell month-on-month, and the only city that rose was Fuzhou. Prices in first-tier cities fell by 0.7% month-on-month, and prices in second- and third-tier cities both fell by 0.5% month-on-month, both of which were 0.1 percentage points narrower than the previous month.
In terms of new homes, prices in 57 cities decreased month-on-month, and the number of cities decreased by 2 from the previous month, of which prices in first-tier cities decreased by 0.1% month-on-month, and second- and third-tier cities decreased by 0.3% and 0.4% respectively.
At the same time, both new and second-hand home transactions have rebounded.
Interpretation: In terms of new housing, most urban real estate is striving for "price for volume". Residential supply also continued to rise, with the number of new homes opening in the key 65 cities surging by 155% month-on-month in March, especially in first-tier cities, which rose by nearly 350% month-on-month.
In terms of second-hand housing, while prices are falling, transaction volume is rising, and the financial report of Lianjia's parent company Beike shows that its business revenue from stock housing (that is, second-hand housing) in 2023 will increase by 28.6% year-on-year.
On April 17, U.S. time, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the launch of a Section 301 investigation against China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries. China strongly deplores this and resolutely opposes it.
A spokesman for the Department of Commerce said that a number of US research reports show that the US shipbuilding industry has lost its competitive advantage many years ago due to overprotection. The U.S. provides discriminatory subsidies of $100 billion to its own industries, but accuses China of adopting so-called "non-market practices". As a matter of fact, the development of China's industry is the result of technological innovation and active participation in market competition, and the accusations made by the US side are simply untenable. The previous US administration launched a Section 301 investigation on China and imposed tariffs on China, which was ruled by the WTO to be in violation of WTO rules and opposed by many WTO members. The US has made repeated mistakes in launching a new Section 301 investigation out of domestic political needs.
On April 16, Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Science and Technology Venture Capital (Group) Co., Ltd. implemented a joint reorganization. According to the Shanghai SASAC, the goal of the restructuring of the two is to build an industry leading company with scientific and technological innovation leadership and international influence.
After the reorganization of Shanghai State Investment Corporation, Yuan Guohua served as secretary of the party committee and chairman of the board. Yuan Guohua previously served as Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Shanghai Lingang Economic Development (Group) Co., Ltd.
Interpretation: The two state-owned companies will set up a "giant" science and technology investment platform in Shanghai, with assets under management exceeding 100 billion yuan.
In January 2024, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Pudong New Area Comprehensive Reform Pilot Implementation Plan (2023-2027)", which mentioned the need to improve the sustainable and stable innovation investment mechanism. It is foreseeable that the restructured "Shanghai State Investment Corporation" will become an important player in Shanghai's scientific and technological innovation system.
On April 17, Liu Sushe, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference of the State Council Information Office that in 2024, the mainland will further increase the support for investment in the central budget, focusing on supporting the construction of the "one old and one small" facility service system.
At present, the number of nurseries for 1,000 people in the mainland has reached 3.3, an increase of 0.8 over the previous year, and 48 prefectures and cities across the country have carried out the pilot construction of comprehensive childcare service centers, which will be further promoted in the future. At the same time, through the investment mechanism, we will promote the sinking of professional pension institutions into the community, and will also organize the implementation of a number of professional and large-scale medical and elderly care projects. In addition, efforts will be made to promote the overall allocation of "0-6 years old" childcare service resources in various localities, and support the overall transformation or development of childcare services in kindergartens with reduced students.
Interpretation: Since the "14th Five-Year Plan", the National Development and Reform Commission has allocated a total of 219.6 billion yuan of investment in the central budget to strengthen infrastructure construction in the fields of education, medical and health care, employment, cultural tourism, social services, national fitness, and "one old and one young".
At present, there are still many shortcomings and weaknesses in the field of social and people's livelihood. Liu Sushe said that the next step is to implement the 2023 version of the national basic public service standards, insist on doing our best and doing what we can, and firmly adhere to the bottom line of basic people's livelihood.
Jin Xiandong, director of the Policy Research Office of the National Development and Reform Commission, recently introduced that at present, the mainland has a good foundation for developing a low-altitude economy.
By the end of 2023, 449 general airports and 32 flight service stations have been built and registered across the country.
The mainland's new low-altitude aircraft are booming, especially the wide application of new technologies such as information and communication, Beidou navigation, and high-precision navigation, and the continuous progress of autonomous driving technology of some enterprises will provide technical support for the development of low-altitude economy.
Jin Xiandong said that the development of the mainland's low-altitude economy is still in its infancy, and the next step will be to promote the formation of a good situation of healthy development of the low-altitude economy with rich and diverse scenes, intelligent and efficient supply, and standardized supervision and safety.
Interpretation: As a representative of new quality productivity, the low-altitude economy has attracted a lot of attention recently. In 2024, the "low-altitude economy" will be written into the government work report for the first time.
Since the beginning of this year, 26 provinces have made arrangements for the low-altitude economy in the government work report, among which Guangdong is the province that started earlier, representing the enterprise DJI. On February 1, the "Regulations on the Promotion of Low-altitude Economic Industries in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone" was officially implemented, becoming the first local special regulations on low-altitude economy in the country.
Low-altitude economy refers to a comprehensive economic form that is guided by various low-altitude flight activities of various manned and unmanned aircraft, and radiates and drives the integrated development of related fields. Related products mainly include unmanned aerial vehicles, eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft), helicopters, traditional fixed-wing aircraft, etc., involving two major scenarios: residential consumption and industrial applications.
The National Bureau of Statistics released data on the unemployment rate of various age groups in March: the unemployment rate of the labor force aged 25-29 excluding school students in urban areas was 7.2 percent, up 0.8 percentage points from the previous month, the unemployment rate of the labor force aged 16-24 excluding school students in urban areas was 15.3 percent, the same as that of the previous month, and the unemployment rate of labor force aged 30-59 excluding school students in urban areas nationwide was 4.1 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month.
On the whole, the surveyed urban unemployment rate announced by the National Bureau of Statistics has declined. In the first quarter, the average surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas nationwide was 5.2 percent, down 0.3 percentage points from the same period last year. In March, the surveyed urban unemployment rate nationwide was 5.2 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month and the same month last year.
Interpretation: Although the urban unemployment rate is decreasing, the unemployment rate of young people has increased slightly, which shows that the employment of college graduates is facing certain pressure.
Recently, Sheng Laiyun, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics, said that there is no problem with China's total employment, and we should pay attention to structural contradictions. To solve this contradiction, it is necessary to adapt the supply and demand of human resources rather than mismatch.
On April 17, Jin Xiandong, director of the Policy Research Office of the National Development and Reform Commission, also said that he would organize a three-year action to promote youth employment, increase support for returning to his hometown to start a business, and do everything possible to stabilize and promote employment.
On April 18, at the launch event of the resettlement of the first urban village reconstruction project in Guangzhou Development Zone and Huangpu District, the first housing ticket for the urban village reconstruction project in the country was officially issued to the villagers. The pilot project of housing ticket resettlement will be carried out in an orderly manner in the reconstruction project of five villages and seven urban villages in Huangpu District.
The first phase of the pilot five-village and seven-piece urban village transformation area is a world-class innovative industrial cluster of biomedicine under planning in Guangzhou and the core bearing area of the third pole of China's integrated circuit industry development. Through the introduction of the housing ticket resettlement policy, the construction space for industrial and affordable housing can be freed up for the area.
On April 12, the "Implementation Rules for the Resettlement of Housing Tickets for the Urban Village Reconstruction Project in Huangpu District, Guangzhou Development Zone" was officially issued, which is the first supporting policy for the resettlement of housing tickets for urban village reconstruction at the district level, which is of milestone significance.
Interpretation: In Guangzhou, Huangpu District has the largest volume of old reform, so Huangpu has always been the pioneer of Guangzhou in exploring new models of old reform.
The room ticket policy formulated by Huangpu District this time has been more innovative. It is mainly reflected in the rules for the use of room tickets, one is that it has a wide range of applications, and can be used by oneself or immediate family members; second, it can flexibly purchase the commercial housing included in the "housing supermarket" and the parking space of the same commercial house, and get the real estate certificate; third, it is not included in the scope of family purchase restrictions; fourth, the room ticket can be transferred once in real name; and fifth, it can enjoy the preferential price of the room ticket.
Southern Weekly reporter Zhou Xiaoling
Editor-in-charge: Zhang Yue