Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced a GDP growth target of “about 5%” for 2024. In a speech of just under one hour, Premier Li reviewed the economic achievements of China in the past year, including an economic growth of 5.2%, the putting into service of the C919 passenger plane and a large cruise ship, the production and sales of electric vehicles, and the installation in China of more than half of the world's new energy capacity. Premier Li also set out the tasks for this year, which marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and is a crucial year for achieving the goals of the 14th Five Year Plan (2021-25). Besides the GDP growth target of “about 5%”, he also announced an increase in the defense budget of 7.2% to CNY1.67 trillion, the same rate of increase as last year. The urban jobless rate is set at around 5.5% – creating around 12 million new jobs – and inflation at around 3%.
Premier Li Qiang said that China successfully fulfilled economic development tasks when facing an “abnormally complicated international environment” last year. Li applauded China’s “high-quality development” in the past year, saying major national industries have made progress. He admitted that the economy has been facing some problems, saying the negative impact from the external environment has been increasing. New problems and new situations came one after another on top of China’s existing structural economic problems, creating many policy dilemmas last year. “We have faced multiple challenges in the past year, our achievements were hard-earned. Looking at the global environment, external factors have negatively affected our country’s development. Domestically, after three years of the pandemic, economic recovery has been difficult. Accumulated and deep-rooted problems have been apparent.” Premier Li added that China has stepped up development in science, technology and industrialization, and urban residents now make up 66.2% of the population. China also made efforts to promote foreign investment and help private enterprises. China will issue CNY3.9 trillion in special government bonds, and try to solve local governments’ funding shortages. The Premier also promised to create a stable, transparent and predictable policy environment for enterprises and will put the focus on “communicating with the market”.
Another goal for this year is to expand domestic demand and promote steady growth in consumer spending. The government will launch a year-long program to boost consumption, support young talent in the hi-tech sector, and move more quickly to boost self-reliance in this area. A major task for the government this year will be upgrading the manufacturing, logistics and digital economy and stepping up technological education, Premier Li clarified. He said that this year the government will give support to industries such as intelligent and electric vehicles, as well as accelerating the development of new hydrogen energy, new materials and innovative pharmaceutical industries. He also expects to see sectors such as bio-manufacturing and commercial aircraft manufacturing becoming new growth engines.
Li promised to expand foreign trade – including cross-border e-commerce and imports of high-quality goods – and to loosen restrictions on foreign investment, opening up more sectors, such as telecommunications and medical services, and to “completely scrap” the threshold for foreign investment in the manufacturing sector. China will address barriers faced by foreign investors, such as “cross-border data flows” and the ability to participate in the government tendering processes, Li said. The country will also make it easier for foreigners to live, work and study in China. China’s free trade ports, such as the Hainan free trade zone (FTZ), will be given more autonomy in opening up, Premier Li added. China is targeting a reduction of energy consumption per unit of GDP by 2.5% from last year.
The second sessions of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the nation’s top political advisory body, and the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), the top legislature, opened on March 4 and 5 respectively. This year's NPC session will last for one week, which is shorter compared to previous years. The NPC opening meeting was attended by 2,872 of the 2,956 registered delegates, as well as around 2,100 CPPCC delegates.
China’s provincial-level regions recently unveiled their growth targets for 2024 in government work reports delivered to local people’s congresses, varying from 4.5% to 8%, with the majority expecting to expand their economy by over 5%. “New productive forces”, an emerging catchphrase in China’s policymaking, are a hot topic at the sessions. Technological development, innovation, industrial transformation, strengthening research and development (R&D) and further opening up are high on the agenda of the meetings.
It has been announced that Premier Li Qiang will not continue the three-decades-old tradition of the Chinese Premier meeting the domestic and international press following the closing session of the NPC. The press conference will also be scrapped for the remainder of the current NPC term unless there are exceptional circumstances, Spokesperson for the NPC session Lou Qinjian announced. The press conference was first held in 1988 and established as a customary practice in 1993. It became one of the most anticipated events of the annual “two sessions”. One observer commented that “the Premier’s job is now focussed on the economy and social affairs. However, the questions asked at the presser are usually about foreign affairs and China’s grand strategy”. Several ministers, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, will still hold press conferences during the NPC session to elaborate on specific policy areas. However, the cancelation of the Premier's annual press conference may increase the perception of China’s lack of transparency. Jens Eskelund, President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, expressed regret that the Premier’s press conference was cancelled. “Transparency and engagement with international media are important for enabling the global audience to understand China’s priorities and its assessment of the domestic and global situation,” he said. “We hope the press conference will be reintroduced next year.” More than 3,000 journalists are registered to cover the two sessions, including over 1,000 from foreign, Hong Kong and Macao media.
Wang Huning, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), called on the CPPCC to make full use of its role as a specialized advisory body, focusing on providing wisdom for the country’s modernization goals. He stressed the need for the CPPCC to act as a specialized consultative body, closely focusing on the major decisions and initiatives of the Communist Party's Central Committee, national strategic needs and significant practical issues in its advisory role.
This report is based on a live broadcast of Premier Li's speech and a blog report by the South China Morning Post.
