China's political advisors on Monday stressed the importance of economic stability and common prosperity during the annual session of the country's top political advisory body.

The fifth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) opened on March 4 in Beijing.

Speaking at the second plenary meeting of the fifth session of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC on Monday, Wang Yiming, former deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, voiced confidence in the "giant ship" of China's economy.

China's GDP in 2021 reached $17.7 trillion, showing a growth of 8.1 percent year on year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The country's GDP per capita in 2021 reached $12,551, nearing that of a "high-income country" as defined by the World Bank.

Citing this data, Wang, also a CPPCC member, said China's economy has shown strong resilience.

In 2022, China should continue its active fiscal policy and stable monetary policy, he said, adding the country should promote tax cuts and fee reductions, lower interest rates, and increase loans for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Innovation, digital and green economy have become the new drivers of China's economic transformation, he said, adding that efforts should also be made to stabilize market expectations.

The country should grow its private economy and promote a healthier, more sustainable development of capital in the long term, said Wang.

Common prosperity

In achieving common prosperity, China should try to expand the size of middle-income group and form a distribution structure that is big in the middle and small at both ends, said Gao Peiyong, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a CPPCC member.

"We should not engage in 'absolute egalitarianism' or 'eating from the same big pot of rice,'" said Gao, referring to a distribution system in the planned economy.

He hailed China's poverty eradication efforts and the elimination of absolute poverty as a practical step and the result of the country's pursuit of common prosperity.

To that end, gradual and long-term efforts should be made, and improvement of people's livelihood should be achieved based on sustainable economic development, he said.

Rural revitalization

China should make more efforts to secure a new pattern of industrial development in its rural areas so as to consolidate the achievements in poverty eradication and promote rural revitalization, said Wang Hong, vice chairwoman of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang and a CPPCC member.

Ecological and cultural tourism should be promoted given the rich natural resources and good environment in the rural areas, said Wang, who is also a vice mayor of Beijing.

Advanced technology should be introduced to expand the scale of rural industries so as to raise the income of rural residents, she said.

In addition, policies should also be rolled out to provide guarantees and mechanisms for migrant workers who return to their rural residences to start business, and for the flow of capital, she added.

(Cover: The second plenary meeting of the fifth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 7, 2022. /Xinhua)

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