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Central Economic Work Conference boosts confidence in Chinese economy

First Voice

View of a commercial street in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. /Xinhua
View of a commercial street in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. /Xinhua

View of a commercial street in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. /Xinhua

Editor's note: CGTN's First Voice provides instant commentary on breaking stories. The column clarifies emerging issues and better defines the news agenda, offering a Chinese perspective on the latest global events.

Despite challenges, the Chinese economy has posted a generally stable performance while making progress in 2024, with advances made in high-quality development and major annual goals and tasks of economic and social development, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said at China's annual Central Economic Work Conference on Thursday, which reviewed the economic work in 2024 and gave directions for 2025. 

With an enriched policy toolkit, China has witnessed solid progress in consumption, investment and exports. In October, China's real estate production index realized growth for the first time since June 2023, according to official data. The transaction volume of new commercial housing and existing homes grew by 3.9 percent year on year, the first increase in eight consecutive months.

Despite some Western countries' tariff threats, China's total goods imports and exports steadily grew in the first 11 months this year, expanding by 4.9 percent year on year in yuan terms, data from the General Administration of Customs revealed. Specifically, exports of containers, ships and motorcycles soared by 108.7 percent, 65.3 percent and 24.8 percent respectively.

Regarding next year's economic work, consumption is a keyword. The meeting urged further efforts to boost consumption, improve investment efficiency and expand domestic demand on all fronts. For this, a special campaign will be implemented to boost consumers' confidence and purchasing power.

The Wangxian Valley Scenic Spot in Shangrao, a city in east China's Jiangxi Province, September 29, 2023. /Xinhua
The Wangxian Valley Scenic Spot in Shangrao, a city in east China's Jiangxi Province, September 29, 2023. /Xinhua

The Wangxian Valley Scenic Spot in Shangrao, a city in east China's Jiangxi Province, September 29, 2023. /Xinhua

Boosting domestic consumption is not just a solution to external risks. It is also a reliable source of high-quality growth for the Chinese economy.

"The transition from an export- and investment-led growth model to one based on domestic consumption and innovation amounts to a fundamental structural transformation," Nobel laureate economist Michael Spence wrote recently on Project Syndicate, adding that China has reached the stage of development where domestic demand should account for the bulk of aggregate demand.

With more than 1.4 billion people and 190 million business entities, China's domestic consumption has an optimistic outlook. This, together with a slew of policy incentives, has ensured the enormous potential of the consumption momentum.

To boost consumption, the meeting called for efforts to develop debut economy, ice and snow economy and silver economy. At present, China, with 217 million people aged 65 and above, has the world's largest elderly population. This means tremendous opportunities and consumption power. According to the China Research Center on Aging, the silver economy could grow from its current value of 7 trillion yuan to 30 trillion yuan by 2035.

However, the emphasis on domestic consumption does not mean China is retreating from its open-door policy. The Central Economic Work Conference also stressed that China should expand its high-standard opening up and keep foreign trade and foreign investment stable. It called for more efforts to expand pilot opening-up programs in such fields as telecom, healthcare and education.

Against the backdrop of external threats of decoupling, China, on several occasions, has clarified its stance to open its door wider.

Having outlined priorities in nine aspects including boosting consumption, the Central Economic Work Conference has provided clear guidance for high-quality economic growth in the coming year. Amid complex external and domestic situations, it has signaled strong policy support for next year's economic work, boosting the confidence of market participants, preventing risks in key areas, and instilling fresh momentum in the country's high-quality growth.

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