Financial Services Association, April 17. The Information Office of the State Council held a press conference this afternoon. Liu Sushe, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, Yuan Da, Deputy Secretary General and Director of the National Economic Integration Department, and Jin Xiandong, Director of the Policy Research Office, were invited to explain the macroeconomic situation and policies and answer questions from reporters.

National Development and Reform Commission: Actively and steadily promoting low-altitude economic development is significant and the prospects are bright

Kim Hyeon-dong, director of the research office of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that in recent times, everyone has been very concerned about the low-altitude economy. The low-altitude economy involves logistics and transportation, urban transportation, agriculture, forestry and plant protection, emergency rescue, sports and leisure, cultural tourism, etc. It also involves high-end manufacturing, artificial intelligence and other industries. It has the characteristics of a wide range of service fields, long industrial chains, and diverse business formats. It is a strategic emerging industry with broad prospects. It is also a typical example of new quality productivity. It is significant and has bright prospects for actively and steadily promoting low-altitude economic development. In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will coordinate and cooperate with relevant departments to adhere to steady progress, better coordinate high-quality development and a high level of safety, and promote the formation of a good situation for the healthy development of a low-altitude economy with rich and diverse scenarios, smart and efficient supply, and safety regulations.

National Development and Reform Commission: Accelerate the implementation of measures such as ultra-long-term special treasury bonds to strengthen expectations guidance and enhance market confidence

Liu Sushe, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that economic performance continued to improve in the first quarter. The economic growth rate exceeded expectations, the economic structure continued to be optimized, quality and efficiency improved, employment prices were basically stable, market expectations were generally improved, the overall social situation remained stable, and economic and social development had a good start. Currently, positive factors in the operation of the economy continue to increase, but the external environment is complex, severe, and uncertain, effective domestic demand is insufficient, social expectations are weak, the foundation for economic stability and improvement is not yet strong, and the operation of the economy is still facing many risks and challenges.

In accordance with the deployment of the Central Economic Work Conference and the tasks set out in the “Report on the Work of the Government”, the National Development and Reform Commission will adhere to steady progress, promote stability and break first, step up macroeconomic policy implementation efforts, implement policies such as large-scale equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-in action plans, and action plans to attract and utilize foreign investment more vigorously, accelerate the implementation of measures such as ultra-long-term special treasury bonds, and continue to step up efforts to build a modern industrial system, expand domestic demand, comprehensively deepen reforms and expand high-level opening-up to the outside world, coordinated development in urban and rural areas, green and low-carbon development, and improve people's livelihood Key tasks such as steadily preventing and mitigating risks in related fields, actively cultivate and develop new types of productivity. At the same time, strengthen expectations and guidance, enhance market confidence, make every effort to consolidate and enhance the positive trend of economic recovery, and promote high-quality completion of economic and social development goals throughout the year.

National Development and Reform Commission: The preliminary screening process for this year's special bond project has been completed, and the Ministry of Finance is reviewing the balance of project financing benefits, etc.

Liu Sushe, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the macroeconomic situation and policy press conference today that the size of this year's special bonds is 3.9 trillion yuan. Previously, the Development and Reform Commission, in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, appropriately expanded the fields of investment in special bonds and the scope of industries used as project capital. Recently, according to the division of responsibilities for special bonds, the Development and Reform Commission checked the investment areas and preliminary work of the projects reported locally, and completed the preliminary screening of this year's special bond projects. It has now been promoted to the Ministry of Finance and fed back to local authorities. The Ministry of Finance is reviewing the balance of benefits from project financing, etc., and all regions are also preparing for the project in advance. Overall, the number of projects that have been initially screened is sufficient, and the capital requirements are large, laying a solid project foundation for the issuance and use of special bonds throughout the year. We will work with relevant parties as soon as possible to form a final list of preparation projects, urge local authorities to speed up the issuance and use of bonds, and push the project to form more physical workload.

National Development and Reform Commission: Promote construction of all treasury bond issuance projects by the end of June this year

Liu Sushe, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that the construction and implementation of the new treasury bond issuance project in 2023 will be accelerated. In February of this year, the Development and Reform Commission completed issuing a list of all three batches of additional treasury bonds totaling 1 trillion yuan, and the funds for issuing additional treasury bonds have already been implemented into about 15,000 specific projects. Since March, our committee has established an online scheduling mechanism to urge the rapid commencement of construction of the project; together with relevant industry authorities, it has carried out full-cycle supervision of the project implementation. At present, we have completed the first batch of supervision work in 12 provinces. Other provinces have also carried out self-inspections, and the second and third batches of supervision will also be organized during the year. Tomorrow, the Development and Reform Commission will also organize a video-teleconference on the implementation and promotion of the national 2023 treasury bond issuance project to report on the progress and supervision of the project, promptly correct and rectify the problems discovered, further consolidate local principal responsibilities, and push for construction of all additional treasury bond issuance projects by the end of June this year.

National Development and Reform Commission: Studying and Expanding the Scope of Investment and Loan Linkage Pilot Cooperative Banks to Guide Banks to Continue to Increase Financing Support for Private Investment Projects

Liu Sushe, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that we will effectively drive investment throughout society through government investment and policy incentives, and implement policies to guide private investment. Specific tasks include giving full play to the role of the national government and social capital cooperation project information system that has already been launched, fully implementing the specific requirements of the franchise plan preparation outline, implementing new mechanisms for government and social capital cooperation; publicly promoting more major projects to attract private capital participation; studying and expanding the scope of investment and loan linkage pilot cooperative banks, guiding banks to continue to increase financing support for private investment projects and key national projects, and taking more measures to motivate private investment.

National Development and Reform Commission: The driving effect of net exports increased in the first quarter, and the contribution rate changed from -3.1% in the previous quarter to 14.5%

Yuan Da, Deputy Secretary General of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that since this year, the Chinese economy has continued its upward trend and achieved a steady start and a good start. Based on the data analysis currently available, it mainly shows the “three elements”, that is, steady improvement, steady progress, and steady improvement. The “troika” drive is more coordinated, and the driving force of domestic demand continues to show. The domestic demand contribution rate in the first quarter was 85.5%; the net export driving effect increased, and the contribution rate of external demand changed from -3.1% in the previous quarter to 14.5%.

National Development and Reform Commission: Investment plans within the central budget have been issued for more than 200 billion yuan, which will further speed up the issuance of plans

Liu Sushe, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that in the first quarter, the country's fixed asset investment increased 4.5% year on year, 0.3 percentage points faster than January-February, and 1.5 percentage points faster than the whole of last year, showing a steady upward trend. Among them, investment in manufacturing and infrastructure increased by 9.9% and 6.5% respectively, maintaining a relatively rapid growth rate; private investment grew by 0.5%, and the growth rate rebounded further, accounting for 51.6% of total investment. The following measures have been taken. Expedite the issuance of investment plans within the central budget. A total of 700 billion yuan has been allocated for investment within the central budget this year. The Development and Reform Commission and all relevant parties insist on equal emphasis on quality and efficiency, strengthen project reserves and preliminary work, and organize the preparation of investment plans. Up to now, more than 200 billion yuan of investment plans have been issued within the central budget, accounting for more than 30% of the whole year. We will further speed up the issuance of plans, strengthen implementation of plans, and at the same time earnestly carry out project construction and supervision, and continue to improve the efficiency of the use of funds within the central budget.

National Development and Reform Commission: It has researched and drafted action plans to support security capacity building in major national strategies and key areas, focusing on key tasks such as speeding up the achievement of a high level of self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology

Liu Sushe, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the macroeconomic situation and policy press conference today that at present, all parties are very concerned about ultra-long-term special treasury bonds. The central government has decided to start this year and continuously issue ultra-long-term special treasury bonds for the next few years, earmarked for the implementation of major national strategies and security capacity building in key areas. This is a major strategic decision focusing on the overall strategy of building a strong nation and reviving the nation. According to the arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the Development and Reform Commission and relevant parties have now studied and drafted action plans to support the country's major strategies and security capacity building in key areas. After approval, the organization and implementation will begin.

The action plan adheres to goal orientation, precise breakthroughs, and concentrates efforts on supporting a number of major and difficult issues relating to modernization, urgent development needs, many years of thought and failure, and requiring promotion at the central level, adhering to high-quality development and a high level of safe and healthy interaction, consolidating the foundation of national security and long-term development; insisting on coordinating hard investment and soft construction, using reform methods and innovative ideas to break down deep-seated barriers; and to issue 1 trillion yuan of ultra-long-term special treasury bonds first in 2024.

In terms of support, the focus is on key tasks such as speeding up the achievement of a high level of self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology, promoting integrated urban and rural development, promoting coordinated regional development, enhancing food and energy resource security capabilities, promoting high-quality population development, and comprehensively promoting the construction of a beautiful China. In terms of organization and implementation, we adhere to the principle of “projects follow the planning, capital follows the project, supervision follows capital”, and work with relevant departments to effectively strengthen coordination, improve financial security, optimize investment methods, and increase supervision. In particular, it is necessary to build a batch of relatively mature preliminary work as soon as possible. In addition to eligible projects, we will also urgently push for the introduction and implementation of relevant supporting policies, break down deep-seated barriers through institutional mechanism reforms, and form joint efforts with major project construction to ensure that tasks with clear action plans are implemented with high quality and effectiveness.

National Development and Reform Commission: The capacity utilization rate is expected to gradually rise in the next few quarters. It is untenable that there are many export products just because of overcapacity

Kim Hyeon-dong, director of the research office of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that the capacity utilization rate is an indicator reflecting the relationship between production and demand in the short term, and is affected by factors such as demand conditions and profit levels. Judging from China's historical data over the past few years, the capacity utilization rate fluctuates quite a bit. The capacity utilization rate in the first quarter was relatively low, and the fourth quarter was relatively high. This is related to factors such as the Spring Festival holiday. According to our preliminary analysis, capacity utilization is expected to gradually pick up in the next few quarters.

When it comes to production capacity issues, we should start from economic laws and look at them objectively and dialectically. Under the conditions of a market economy, the balance between supply and demand is relative, and imbalance is common. A moderate increase in production and demand is beneficial to market competition and survival of the fittest. This phenomenon is widespread. Some parties link the issue of production capacity to international trade, and believe that if there are more products exported, there is overcapacity; this is untenable. China imports a large number of products such as chips, airplanes, soybeans, and crude oil every year, so are all exporters of these commodities overcapacity?

In the context of economic globalization, both supply and demand are global. Different countries have larger production capacity in their respective strong industries and smaller production capacity in other industries. This is determined by each country's comparative advantage. Only by strengthening cooperation can we develop together. According to estimates by the International Energy Agency, global demand for new energy vehicles in 2030 will be more than three times the global sales volume in 2023. In the process of promoting green and low-carbon transformation and development, new energy fields such as electric vehicles have massive market demand, and this will be a common opportunity for all countries to develop. China's new energy industry continues to develop and continue to provide high-quality production capacity, not only meeting its own high-quality development needs, but also making important contributions to the global fight against climate change and the green and low-carbon transformation.

National Development and Reform Commission: Accelerate the legislative process of the “Private Economy Promotion Law” and lower the institutional and legal requirements for equal treatment of state-owned enterprises and private enterprises

Yuan Da, Deputy Secretary General of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that recently, we organized the National Work Conference on Optimizing the Business Environment and the first plenary session of the Interministerial Joint Conference on Promoting Private Economic Development and Growth to deploy key tasks for 2024. In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will further step up its efforts, do a good job of coordination, and focus on the three areas of work. The first is to strengthen the guarantee of the rule of law. Accelerate the legislative process of the “Private Economy Promotion Law”, continuously improve the institutional mechanisms that adhere to “two unwavering”, speed up the institutional and legal requirements for equal treatment of state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, and effectively play the role of the rule of law in solidifying the foundation, stabilizing expectations, and benefiting the long term. The second is to effectively solve enterprise problems. Build and make good use of a comprehensive service platform for private economic development, form joint efforts and implement a closed loop of work to collect, handle, and track results, strengthen coordination and resolve common issues that constrain private economic development, highlight typical problems, and effectively secure, protect enterprises, stabilize enterprises, and benefit enterprises. The third is to continue to create a good atmosphere. Implement a normalized communication mechanism, regularly organize on-site meetings to promote private economic development and growth, thoroughly implement plans to cultivate and empower private economists in the new era, summarize and promote typical experiences and practices in various regions to promote high-quality development of the private economy, and actively create a favorable environment to encourage and support the development of the private economy.

National Development and Reform Commission: The positive factors supporting consumption growth are increasing, and consumption is expected to maintain a steady upgrading and steady positive development trend

Kim Hyeon-dong, director of the Research Office of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that since this year, China's consumer market has generally recovered well. Looking ahead to the whole year, driven by policies to expand domestic demand and promote consumption, various regions and fields continue to innovate consumption scenarios and optimize the consumption environment. Positive factors supporting consumption growth are increasing, and consumption is expected to maintain a steady upgrading and steady positive development trend. The National Development and Reform Commission will further play the role of an inter-ministerial joint conference to improve the system and mechanism to promote consumption, coordinate the implementation of detailed policies and measures by various departments and localities to promote consumption, and push consumption from recovery to continuous expansion after the epidemic. The focus is on three areas of work. The first is to stabilize employment, promote income growth, and effectively increase residents' consumption capacity. We will thoroughly implement priority employment policies, organize and carry out a three-year campaign to promote youth employment, increase support for returning to their hometowns to start businesses, and make every effort to stabilize and promote employment. At the same time, improve the mechanism for adjusting minimum wage standards, promote a reasonable and steady increase in residents' wages and income, and raise the property income of urban and rural residents through multiple channels. The second is to expand demand and superior supply, and continue to create new consumption growth points. Encourage the cultivation and creation of new consumption scenarios and new business formats guided by market demand and consumer demand. Support the development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, and actively cultivate new consumer hotspots such as smart homes, recreational tourism, sporting events, and domestic “trendy products”. At the same time, cooperate with relevant departments to actively carry out tasks such as trade-in of consumer goods. Third, protect the bottom line by focusing on rights and interests, and focus on creating a safe consumption environment. The main thing is to cooperate with relevant departments to continuously improve consumer complaints and rights protection mechanisms, accelerate the formation of a closed loop of safe consumption systems, strengthen consumer supervision and enforcement, standardize online transactions, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

National Development and Reform Commission: Accelerate the implementation of major arrangements such as equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-in, and issuing ultra-long-term special treasury bonds to support the implementation of major national strategies and security capacity building in key areas

Yuan Da, Deputy Secretary General of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that to do a good job in the second quarter, focus on three things: the first is to promote the implementation of established policies and key tasks with greater efficiency. Strengthen the implementation of macroeconomic policies, give full play to the role of active fiscal policies and prudent monetary policies, jointly implement policies on industry, investment, consumption, employment, prices, etc., enhance the consistency of macroeconomic policy orientations, and promote the formation of policy synergies. In particular, we will accelerate the implementation of major arrangements such as equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-in, and issuing ultra-long-term special treasury bonds to support the implementation of major national strategies and security capacity building in key areas.

editor/tolk