Premier Li highlights central role of consumption

BEIJING: Premier Li Keqiang has underlined efforts to promote the role of consumption as the major driver of economic growth and to expand effective investment in order to boost the confidence of market players, as they play a critical role in stabilizing the economy.
Li made the remark at a recent State Council meeting, during which he was briefed on the work of two task forces sent to 16 provincial-level regions by the State Council to supervise local efforts in the stabilization of economy and policy implementation.
He stressed full implementation of the new development philosophy and efficient efforts to coordinate the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic with socioeconomic development, saying that both the central and local authorities should be given full play to take the initiative in this work.
Adhering to development is the basis and also the key to solving all problems facing the country, Li said.
He called for multiple measures to be adopted to maintain stable growth, ensure employment and keep the prices of commodities stable, thus keeping the economy operating in a reasonable range and maintaining its stability and growth.
The premier said that while assistance should be provided to help enterprises navigate hardships, it is necessary in the meanwhile to create demand for market players in order to boost their confidence. To speed up the construction of key projects, Li said that the quota for policy-based and developmental financial instruments can be increased in accordance with local demand, and projects that have started construction in the first half of this year will also be supported. Policy-based, developmental financial tools are designed to increase financial support for major projects by playing a greater guiding role, without resorting to massive stimulus or excessive money supply.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item