On July 30, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting to analyze and study the current economic situation and make arrangements for economic work in the second half of the year. A few days earlier, the CPC Central Committee held a forum of non-party personages to listen to the opinions and suggestions of the central committees of various democratic parties, responsible persons of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and representatives of personages without party affiliation on the current economic situation and economic work in the second half of the year.
How do you look at the current economic situation and what will be done in the second half of the year? "Micro Observation of Current Affairs" interprets it for you through three sets of keywords.
Steady and progressive
"In the first half of this year, under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in the face of complex and changeable domestic and foreign situations, we withstood pressure, acted actively, strengthened macroeconomic regulation and control, deepened reform and opening up, effectively responded to risks and challenges, the economy continued to pick up and improve, and high-quality development took new steps." On July 26, at a symposium of people outside the party, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized.
Previously, the National Bureau of Statistics released the 2024 "semi-annual report" of China's economy. According to preliminary calculations, the GDP in the first half of this year was 616836 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.0 percent at constant prices. In the face of challenges such as the complexity, severity and uncertainty of the external environment, China's economy has shown strong resilience and laid a solid foundation for achieving the annual target.
Looking through the "report card" of China's economy in the first half of the year, we can see both the foundation of "stability" and the trend of "progress"——
In the first half of this year, while the mainland continued to maintain its status as a major manufacturing country, all kinds of service industries developed rapidly, and their weight in the national economy became more prominent. The service industry contributed 52.6% to the national economic growth, driving the GDP growth by 2.6 percentage points.
△As of June 30, the express delivery business volume in mainland China exceeded 80 billion pieces in the first half of this year, 59 days earlier than in 2023. The picture shows that on June 18, 2024, in an express delivery company in Changxing County, Huzhou, Zhejiang, the staff was busy sorting, scanning and other work.
While laying a solid foundation for "stability", new drivers and new industries are accelerating their growth and forming new development supports. In the first half of this year, the added value of high-tech manufacturing above designated size increased by 8.7 percent year-on-year, and the investment in high-tech industries increased by 10.6 percent year-on-year. Strategic emerging industries such as new energy, new materials, and high-end equipment manufacturing continue to develop.
△On March 21, 2024, the shield machine produced by North Heavy Industry was successfully rolled off the assembly line in the workshop, and the engineering and technical personnel delivered the shield machine for acceptance.
At the same time, it should also be noted that some economic indicators on the mainland have fluctuated recently, reflecting the increase in the adverse effects brought about by changes in the current external environment. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "At present, the mainland's economic development has encountered some difficulties and problems, which are problems in development and transformation, and can be completely overcome through hard work. We need to strengthen our confidence in development, maintain strategic focus, actively respond to problems and challenges, and sing the bright theory of China's economy with tangible high-quality development results. ”
On July 16, the International Monetary Fund released its World Economic Outlook report, raising China's economic growth forecast for this year to 5%. "We believe there is still considerable policy space in China." WTO Director-General Iweala said that despite some challenges facing the economy, China has the ability to take the necessary measures to boost the economy, some of which are already beginning to have a positive impact.
Inside and out
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China analyzed the current situation and tasks, emphasized the unswerving realization of the annual economic and social development goals, and put forward requirements such as "actively expanding domestic demand" and "accelerating the cultivation of new momentum for foreign trade".
To do a good job in the economic work in the second half of the year, the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee also made arrangements in two aspects: expanding domestic demand and promoting high-level opening up.
It is necessary to focus on boosting consumption to expand domestic demand, and the focus of economic policies should be more focused on benefiting people's livelihood and promoting consumption; We will further create a market-oriented, law-based, and international first-class business environment, steadily expand institutional opening-up, implement the "zero-clearing" requirement for foreign investment access restrictions in the manufacturing sector, launch a new round of pilot measures to expand the opening up of the service industry, and promote the use of foreign investment to stabilize and rebound.
△On July 26, 2024, at the China-Kazakhstan Khorgos International Border Cooperation Center, tourists pick up goods in duty-free shops. Since the beginning of this year, the number of tourists in Xinjiang's major tourist destinations has continued to rise.
Domestic demand is the basic driving force of China's economic development, and it is also an inevitable requirement to meet the people's growing needs for a better life.
Since the beginning of this year, all localities and departments have firmly implemented the strategy of expanding domestic demand, and introduced a series of targeted and combined policies and measures around the expansion of domestic demand. With the continuous effectiveness of various policies, consumer demand continues to recover, and consumption plays a significant role in driving economic growth. In the first half of this year, final consumption expenditure contributed 60.5% to economic growth, driving GDP growth by 3.0 percentage points, providing effective support for promoting the national economy to achieve a virtuous cycle.
△On July 27, 2024, the first Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei China-Europe Express (Shijiazhuang-Baku) departed from Shijiazhuang International Dry Port.
Openness is a clear sign of Chinese modernization. When presiding over a symposium on in-depth promotion of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta in Shanghai last November, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that "we will promote high-level opening-up with a focus on institutional opening-up" and "strive to become a powerful engine for smoothing the mainland's economic cycle and a strategic hub connecting domestic and international dual circulation".
Promoting high-level opening up to the outside world is not only a message to the Yangtze River Delta region, but also a requirement for all regions of the country.
Restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector will be lifted in an all-round way, and domestic and foreign institutions will be supported to cooperate and innovate...... Promote reform through opening-up, better connect the domestic market and the international market, and promote more enterprises to achieve higher quality and more sustainable development.
In the first half of this year, net exports of goods and services contributed 13.9 percent to the mainland's economic growth, and the import and export volume of private enterprises increased by 11.2 percent.
It can be said that the in-depth and systematic reform and the opening up to the outside world at a high level and in a wide range of fields have opened up a broad space for the development of the mainland's economy.
Conspiracy and doing
In the deployment of the economic work in the second half of the year at the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, "cultivating and expanding emerging industries and future industries" has once again become the focus of people's attention.
The future industry is a forward-looking emerging industry driven by cutting-edge technology, which is currently in the stage of gestation and germination or the early stage of industrialization, and has significant strategic, leading, disruptive and uncertain prospects. It represents the direction of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, is the most active force for economic growth, is expected to cultivate and develop into a leading pillar industry, and is an important position for the formation of new quality productivity.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly given important instructions on cultivating and developing emerging industries and future industries.
Since July last year, when the general secretary inspected and investigated Sichuan, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, Guangxi and other places, he proposed to integrate scientific and technological innovation resources, lead the development of strategic emerging industries and future industries, and accelerate the formation of new quality productive forces.
△On May 22, 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected Rizhao Port in Shandong.
In May this year, during the inspection in Shandong, the general secretary once again emphasized that it is necessary to focus on the national strategic needs, coordinate and promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, the cultivation and growth of emerging industries, and the advanced layout of future industries, fully release the integration of the real economy and the digital economy, and develop new quality productivity according to local conditions.
The Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese-style Modernization adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China not only emphasized the cultivation of "new" - strengthening the supply of new fields and new tracks, and establishing a future industrial investment growth mechanism; It has also deployed the transformation of the "old" - to lead the optimization and upgrading of traditional industries with the promotion of national standards.
△On July 13, 2024, visitors visit the EMU model on display at the 26th China Beijing International Science and Technology Industry Expo.
One point of deployment, nine points of implementation. The key to doing a good job in economic work in the second half of the year is to grasp implementation.
The meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee stressed that the task of reform, development and stability in the second half of the year is very heavy, and it is necessary to fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the 2nd and 3rd Plenary Sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee. At the symposium of non-party personalities, General Secretary Xi Jinping affirmed the work in the first half of the year, and also put forward ardent expectations for the democratic parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and non-party personages, including the implementation of the major reform measures proposed by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, major issues in economic and social development, and the preliminary research and planning work of the "15th Five-Year Plan", etc., to provide reference for the scientific decision-making of the CPC Central Committee.
The most strenuous part of climbing the peak is the second half. The heavier the task of reform, development, and stability, the more we must rise to the occasion.
Looking forward to the second half of the year, the blueprint has been drawn, we must enhance the motivation of the work, form a joint force of the work, drum up the spirit of entrepreneurship, and gather a strong force to comprehensively promote the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation with Chinese-style modernization.