Following the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee which concluded in July, China has reiterated its commitment to further deepening reforms comprehensively, a move expected to provide more certainty and opportunities to its modernization drive.
The resolution adopted at the landmark meeting, held from July 15 to 18, unveiled more than 300 reform measures in various fields such as economy, politics, culture, society and ecological civilization, covering all aspects of advancing Chinese modernization.
Currently, the central and local governments have introduced a slew of policies and plans to promote the high-quality and green development of various industries, improve people's livelihoods and develop new quality productive forces.
A view of east China's Shanghai. /CFP
Firm footing in economic growth
To beef up the economy in response to looming challenges, Chinese authorities have unveiled a package of macroeconomic measures since late September, which focused on enhancing counter-cyclical adjustments, expanding effective domestic demand, supporting business operation, promoting the recovery of the property market and invigorating capital markets.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in October, China's economy gained a firm footing in the third quarter (Q3) of this year, showcasing the emerging policy effects and positive changes in major economic indicators.
China's GDP grew 4.8 percent year on year to around 94.97 trillion yuan (about $13.33 trillion) in Q3 and the economy expanded 4.6 percent from a year ago and went up 0.9 percent on a quarterly basis.
Foreign investors are becoming increasingly bullish on the Chinese market, bolstered by the country's recent incremental fiscal policies. UBS Investment Bank has raised its China 2024 growth forecast to 4.8 percent from 4.6 percent, while Goldman Sachs has lifted China's GDP prediction this year from 4.7 percent to 4.9 percent.
So far this year, multiple international institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have raised their forecast for China's economic growth for 2024.
The growing foreign holdings have reflected the global investors' confidence in the Chinese market. Currently, 24 global systemically important banks have a presence in China.
During the World Bank's 110th meeting of the Development Committee in Washington, Chinese Vice Finance Minister Liao Min said a series of strong measures will be implemented to resolve local government debt risks, stabilize the real estate market, increase the income of key groups, enhance people's livelihoods and drive equipment upgrades and trade-in deals for consumer goods.
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A salesman introduces the performance of home appliances to a consumer in Nantong, east China's Jiangsu Province, October 22, 2024. /CFP
Improving people's livelihood
In a significant push to stimulate consumer spending, China rolled out a program of large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-ins of consumer goods in March. From automobiles and home appliances to real estate, the program aims to encourage the replacement of outdated goods with newer and more advanced options.
Translated into concrete policy measures, the program has injected fresh impetus into the consumer market and generated positive initial effects on the economy.
For instance, in southwest China's Chongqing, local authorities have updated trade-in policies for green and smart household appliances last week. On the first day when the new policy was implemented, a total of 8.17 million yuan worth of subsidies were dished out.
The replacement of equipment such as agricultural machinery, old elevators, color ultrasound and CT machines have played a major role in improving people's livelihood and well-being.
At present, China has issued this year's fourth batch of ultra-long special treasury bonds worth 55 billion yuan (about $7.7 billion) to support equipment renewal and a series of new supporting measures from relevant government departments and local governments have also been introduced.
Consumption maintained an upward trend during the period with retail sales of consumer goods up 3.3 percent from a year ago, according to the NBS. The nominal growth of per capita disposable incomes of urban and rural residents came in at 5.2 percent.
Meanwhile, China has taken a multi-pronged approach to stabilize employment, scaling up support for fresh graduates, rural labor force, those in flexible employment and other key groups of jobseekers.
In order to encourage companies to hire young jobseekers, China has rolled out a subsidy policy for firms that hire young people who graduated from universities within the last two years, as well as candidates aged between 16 and 24 who have filed for unemployment.
Effective till the end of this year, the policy will grant the companies a one-off subsidy of no more than 1,500 yuan (about $210) for each young jobseeker they hire.
According to the NBS data, China's job market was stable as the surveyed urban unemployment rate on average stood at 5.1 percent in Q3, down from 5.3 percent a year ago.
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University students attend a job fair in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, October 25, 2024. /CFP
Green and low-carbon transition
The key policy meeting has emphasized the need to "prioritize ecological protection, conserve resources and use them efficiently, and pursue green and low-carbon development."
In August, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have unveiled a set of guidelines to ramp up green transition in all areas of economic and social development.
According to the guidelines, the main objectives are that by 2030, the country will achieve "remarkable results" in the green transition in all areas of economic and social development. By 2035, a green, low-carbon, and circular development economic system will be basically established and the goal of Beautiful China will be basically achieved.
The guidelines have raised a raft of work tasks such as optimizing the development and protection of territorial space, promoting the green and low-carbon transition in industrial structure and the energy sector, as well as promoting green transition in the transport sector and urban-rural development.
A worker makes ordered products at a workshop of a company of renewable low-carbon aluminum heat transfer materials for new energy in Huaibei, east China's Anhui Province, October 3, 2024. /CFP
Echoing the guidelines, various Chinese provinces and cities have accelerated the pace of industrial green transition.
In the northern provinces of Hebei and Shanxi, equipment updates and technological transformations in key industries such as steel and non-ferrous metals are being accelerated to further reduce production energy consumption.
In Taizhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, 193 high-energy-consuming enterprises have been intensively transformed to use clean energy such as solar energy, natural gas and industrial waste heat to power the industrial zone.
During the 2024 Global Industrial Internet Conference held in September, a database for China's industrial carbon was officially launched, covering industrial categories such as energy, equipment manufacturing and electronic information. It can provide enterprises with full-process carbon data services including accounting, analysis and optimization.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China will strengthen the development and supply of green and low-carbon technology equipment and products, and promote the development of green and low-carbon industries such as hydrogen energy, new energy storage, and green intelligent computing.
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