China will speed up the construction of 1,400 major projects carried out by central state-owned enterprises, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), as China continues to strengthen investment stabilization measures to fuel economic growth this year. These projects include the second phase of Deep Sea No 1, China's independently developed, ultra deep-water gas field of the China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), and a nuclear power project in Fangchenggang in Guangxi.
More than 10 central enterprises will take the lead in becoming world-class enterprises in their industries, while more than 100 typical demonstration enterprises in different fields will be developed, showing that China will continue to count on investment as a driving force for economic growth this year. In 2022, fixed-asset investment (FAI) increased by 5.1% year-on-year to CNY57 trillion. Infrastructure investment rose by 9.4%. “When China's economy is being influenced by multiple unexpected factors and facing downward pressure, China is strengthening investment in major infrastructure projects to activate private capital, expand effective investment, drive employment and boost consumption,” Zhou Maohua, Economist at Everbright Bank, told the Global Times. Major infrastructure projects play a comprehensive role in achieving those goals, because the industrial chains of those projects are often much longer than for small ones. Peng noted that China will increase the strength of investment in cloud computing, broadband infrastructure networks, 5G and 6G, and other high-tech areas.
In the first 11 months of 2022, central enterprises had completed fixed-asset investment (FAI) of CNY3.6 trillion, up 5.6% on a yearly basis. More than 20% of the capital was channeled into strategic and emerging industries. Most local governments in China continue to rely on investment to drive economic growth this year, with many looking for double-digit growth in FAI. Six provinces and municipalities, including Chongqing and Hainan, raised their investment targets this year compared with last year, and at least five provinces plan to complete trillion-yuan level investment before the end of 2023, the Global Times reports.
