Leadership sets tone for economic work

This photo taken on Feb 17, 2023 shows robot arms working on a production line at a glass factory in Jiamusi, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Political Bureau says seeking progress while ensuring stability is key principle

Solid steps will be taken to effectively enhance economic vitality, prevent and defuse risks and improve social expectations as part of the nation's efforts to promote reasonable economic growth in 2024, according to a key Party meeting on Friday.

The meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, which was chaired by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, set the tone for China's economic work in the next year as the 24-member CPC central leadership outlined the principles to stabilize and improve the Chinese economy amid a complicated internal and external environment.

Seeking progress while ensuring stability remains the overarching principle that must be upheld for the country's economic work in the next year, according to a statement released after the meeting.

Highlights of the measures to effectively stabilize and improve the Chinese economy include comprehensively deepening reform and opening-up, promoting high-level self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology, increasing macroeconomic regulation and making coordinated efforts to expand domestic demand and intensify supply-side structural reforms, the statement said.

The meeting's participants emphasized the need to consolidate and enhance the momentum of economic recovery and strive to promote overall improvement in economic operations to achieve both qualitative and quantitative growth.

It was noted at the meeting that countercyclical and cross-cyclical adjustment of macroeconomic policies will be strengthened, and a proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy will continue to be implemented.

The proactive fiscal policy should be appropriately intensified and improved in quality and efficiency, while the prudent monetary policy should be flexible, appropriate, targeted and effective, the statement said.

Further efforts will be made to expand domestic demand to form a virtuous cycle of mutual promotion between consumption and investment, it said.

The meeting's participants underlined the role of technological innovation in boosting the construction of a modern industrial system, and urged efforts to enhance the resilience and security of industrial and supply chains.

It was emphasized at the meeting that reforms in key areas will be deepened to continuously inject strong impetus into high-quality development, and that high-level opening-up will be expanded to consolidate the fundamentals of foreign trade and foreign investment.

Effective approaches will be adopted to prevent and defuse major risks in key fields and guard against systemic risks, the statement said.

The meeting's participants also called for solid efforts in work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers, and urged promoting the integration of urban and rural areas and the coordinated development of different regions.

Efforts should be made to promote ecological conservation, as well as green and low-carbon development to accelerate the construction of a Beautiful China, they said, adding that people's livelihoods must be ensured.

The meeting also arranged Party conduct and anti-corruption work, and reviewed Party discipline regulations.

It was agreed at the meeting that the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Party's top disciplinary body, is scheduled to take place from Jan 8 to 10 next year.

Prior to Friday's tone-setting meeting, the CPC Central Committee held a symposium on Wednesday with non-CPC personages to solicit opinions and suggestions on this year's economic situation and economic work for the next year.

While presiding over the symposium, Xi called on the participants to firm up their confidence in development, and actively provide suggestions and proposals to the CPC to promote high-quality development.

It has been a long-held practice for the CPC to solicit suggestions and opinions from the non-Communist parties, leading figures of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and those with no party affiliation, on major policies and decisions of the CPC and the country.