China will ramp up efforts to pursue high-quality development of "dual circulation",  especially to keep the manufacturing sector's share of the economy stable, according to ministers of China on Monday.

Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce Ministry of China (MOFCOM) and Xiao Yaqing, Minister of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) made the statement at the Ministers' Corridor after the second plenary meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress.

The Ministers' Corridor is the 100-meter carpeted passage of the Great Hall of the People where journalists put questions to ministers and other senior officials before they enter the meeting hall for the country's legislative session. But this year the event is being held via video link due to COVID-19.

Striving to develop 'dual circulation'

Official data showed that due to attacks by the epidemic and other factors, China's retail sales of consumer goods fell 3.9% year-on-year in 2020, at 39.2 trillion yuan (about 6.05 trillion U.S. dollars).

"Thanks to continuous improvements in the control of the epidemic as well as the economic recovery, and a series of relief policies, consumption is expected to recover at a fast clip this year," Wang said.

MOFCOM will keep a firm grip on supply-side structural reform, focus on expanding consumption based on encouraging domestic demand, to promote a smooth internal circulation, the minister said.

"Dual circulation" proposed by China's policymakers has become a buzzword recently in China, which consists of two equally strong components: "internal circulation," which refers to domestic economic activities, and "external circulation," which relates to China's economic links with the outside world.

The more important aspect is to achieve a higher level of opening-up, then to build a virtuous circle, with compatible industries, interconnected market, and innovation, he added. 

"The Chinese government has formally ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and is currently accelerating technical preparations in fields like tariffs and certification of origin," Wang said, hoping relevant countries can speed up their progress and finally reach the threshold of entry into force.

The commercial ministry will also promote the formal signing of the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, as well as the negotiations on the China-Japan-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, he noted.

Meanwhile, MOFCOM will further reduce the negative list as much as possible to lure more foreign investment, according to Wang, and will increase the compression and exploration of the negative list of trade in services.

Maintaining manufacturing's share

Maintaining manufacturing's share in the economy not only requires making the pie bigger but also calls for the sector's high-quality development, so as not to drop the ball at the last minute, the senior official noted.

"China should improve the quality of products and services, nurture new growth drivers and attract more capital and talents to the manufacturing sector."

"Further efforts should be made to pursue more intelligent and greener manufacturing, as a way to raise the bar for the sector on the back of the existing level," said Xiao.

Xiao also called for supply-side structural reform, noting it's indispensable to conduct technical reforms in traditional industries and implement technical transformation in the modern sense.

Meanwhile, it's necessary to develop fledgling strategic industries, such as 5G and chips for communication equipment, he added.

"Nonetheless, the development of emerging industries must not be unchecked and redundant or rush into mass action. It should be developed in accordance with market-oriented and law-based principles," Xiao said.