Business
2019.03.14 20:54 GMT+8

Expert: China shifting to high-tech economy

Hu Binyi

China's government released on Thursday a report on the country's economy in January and February, showing that the industrial output was generally stable, with fast growth in emerging industries and new products.

It is a good signal for the country's structural shift. China is now slowing down its investment to heavy industry and switching to higher growth speeds thanks to better quality and high-end technology, according to Qu Qiang, assistant director of the International Monetary Institute, Renmin University of China.

Qu pointed out China has accumulated lots of supplies like iron and steel in the last three to five years, and it is time for Chinese people to reward themselves. "New industry has been boosting. Consumption [is] growing quickly, China has its own model to be consumption- and technology-oriented."

Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang last week announced hundreds of billions of dollars worth of additional tax cuts and infrastructure spending. Qu commented that government stimulus is the right way, adding all countries around the world, including the U.S., would do that to fulfill the gap.

He also cited young people are getting tired of low-paying jobs, and they would rather stay at home and watch videos online than work in a factory. To mobilize the young generation, Qu suggested China to focus on developing high technology like 5G to give young people access to the Internet and cultural businesses.

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