BEIJING: Huang Shouhong, head of the group for drafting the Chinese government work report this year, elaborated on the key points of the document and unveiled the process of its formulation on Tuesday.
The report, which was delivered by Premier Li Qiang at the annual session of China’s top legislature earlier in the day, lays out major targets and tasks of the government for 2024.
Huang, director of the Research Office of the State Council, explained why China sets these priorities and whether they are within reach as “China’s development environment this year will continue to feature both strategic opportunities and challenges, with favorable conditions outweighing unfavorable ones,” as the report puts it.
Huang said the government set the 2024 growth target of around 5 percent by comprehensively taking into account various factors, including both domestic and international situations, as well as both the necessity and possibility of reaching such a rate.
He pointed out three reasons that underpin China’s confidence and capability to realize the target, with the first being the country’s unchanged fundamental driving forces that powered a 5.2 percent growth in 2023, as well as many advantages such as a gigantic market, a complete industrial system and numerous highly qualified workers. The second is weakening adverse factors, including improving property investment and sales, easing local government debts, and quickening steps taken by small and medium-sized financial institutions to curb risks.
Thirdly, the official also noted that pro-growth policies rolled out in the second half of last year will kick in this year.
In the report, the government proposes a 3 percent deficit-to-GDP ratio this year, the same with the budgeted figure of last year but lower than the actual 3.8 percent as China issued an additional 1 trillion yuan (about 140.8 billion U.S. dollars) in treasury bonds in the fourth quarter last year.
“We can’t say that China’s proactive fiscal policy has softened as the deficit-to-GDP ratio was lowered … The same 3 percent ratio this year means 4.06 trillion yuan in deficit, 180 billion yuan more than the budgeted figure at the beginning of last year as the GDP base will be expanded,” he stressed. According to the report, China aims to add “more than” 12 million urban jobs this year, while last year’s target was “around” 12 million. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
