Senior Chinese officials have unveiled a series of pro-growth policies aimed at bolstering the country’s economy in 2024. During a media briefing on Tuesday, they outlined plans to stimulate investment, support domestic consumption, and ensure a favorable environment for businesses.
Confidence in Achieving 2024 Growth Target
The officials expressed strong confidence in reaching China’s growth target for 2024. Recent improvements in market sentiment, highlighted by a rapid rebound in the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector, a surge in the stock market, and robust consumer activity during the National Day holiday, have bolstered this optimism.
With a 5 percent growth in the first half of this year, the foundation has been laid for the annual target of around 5 percent. While the economy remained stable in July and August, some fluctuations were noted. Market institutions predict a third-quarter growth rate between 4.6 percent and 4.8 percent.
Advanced Release of Investment Plans
To stimulate investment, the government plans to continue issuing ultra-long special treasury bonds next year, focusing on major national strategies and enhancing security capacity in key areas. Investment projects worth 200 billion yuan ($14.14 billion), initially planned for next year, will be released in advance to accelerate preliminary work and construction at the local level.
A significant portion of these projects will involve urban renewal, particularly in constructing pipelines for gas, water, sewage, and heating. This initiative is expected to generate investment demand of approximately 4 trillion yuan over the next five years.
Accelerating Local Projects
This year, 3.12 trillion yuan of special-purpose bonds have been allocated for local government project construction. By the end of September, 2.83 trillion yuan had been issued, leaving 290 billion yuan remaining. Local governments are urged to complete the issuance before November, ensuring that projects funded by these bonds commence promptly and have a tangible impact.
The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance are also exploring new measures to optimize and improve the management of these bonds, aiming to fully utilize and maximize their benefits.
Boosting Domestic Consumption
The government is intensifying support for large-scale upgrades of appliances and promoting programs for trading in old products for new ones. These efforts aim to unleash demand potential, promote energy conservation, reduce carbon emissions, and facilitate a comprehensive green transition.
Detailed implementation guidelines for trading in consumer goods have been released, funding has been allocated, and policies have been launched. As a result, passenger car retail sales have rebounded significantly, and home appliance sales have shifted from decline to growth. Continued efforts will focus on implementing relevant policies to drive sustained increases in commodity consumption.
Ensuring Fair Business Practices
Administrative authorities will further regulate their conduct concerning businesses, adopting more inclusive, prudent, and flexible enforcement approaches. Practices such as unlawful cross-regional enforcement, profit-driven enforcement, arbitrary fines, excessive inspections, and unjustified seizures will be avoided. Regions experiencing abnormal growth in forfeiture income will receive warnings, and inspections will be conducted if necessary.
Reference(s):
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