China flags domestic market as key growth driver over next five years

The head of China's top economic planner has stressed the importance of strengthening the domestic economic base, vowing to boost internal demand and build a unified national market in the next five years.

Zheng Shanjie, the head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), made the remarks when elaborating on the Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development adopted during the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). 

Commenting on the significance of building a strong internal market, Zheng said major economies are driven by domestic demand, and markets are the world's most scarce resource. It bears strategic importance in the drive of basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035, Zheng said.

The document says China will take initiatives to drive spending, promote greater use of services, and upgrade the commodity market, Zheng said.

It also asks to utilize government funds in key areas regarding people's livelihoods, and increase the proportion of government investment in livelihood-related areas, Zheng added.  

Noting on the importance of building a unified national market, Zheng said China has further streamlined its market access negative list, reducing the number of restricted fields to 106 across 21 industries in 2025 down from 328.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan, China will build a united national market and remove market barriers, Zheng said. Measures include unifying the underlying institutions and rules of the market, breaking down local protectionism and market segmentation, standardizing local government economic activities, strengthening market supervision and law enforcement, and addressing the so-called involution-style competition.