Stabilizing course set to realize moderately prosperous society: China Daily editorial

The tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference, which concluded on Thursday, has shed light on the direction of China's economic policymaking next year and mapped out policies to pursue high-quality development against domestic and external headwinds.

As the conference statement said, the country has achieved the hard-won task of "sustainable and healthy" economic development despite "growing risks and challenges".

But the increasingly turbulent global economic and trade landscape and the downward pressure on the economy mean policymakers face more daunting tasks in the year ahead as they strive to keep economic growth within a reasonable range, create jobs and improve people's livelihoods.

Yet, despite the headwinds it has encountered, China may still achieve GDP growth of more than 6 percent this year, meaning it is set to outperform most, if not all, of the other major economies, a simple fact that speaks volumes about the resilience of the Chinese economy.

Such resilience and the strengths of its governance system mean the country is confident it will be able to achieve its objective of doubling GDP per capita from the 2010 level and fully establish an all-round moderately prosperous society by the end of next year.

The doom-mongers are destined to be disappointed if they continue to predict a hard landing for the Chinese economy, ignoring what China has achieved and the leadership and institutional advantages it has that will ensure the country has a strong foundation for the start of its 14th Five-Year Plan in 2021.

For Chinese policymakers, their priority next year will be "stabilization", as the country is still transforming its development mode and optimizing the economic structure to realize the shift from capital accumulation-led growth to innovation-driven growth. This requires proactive and result-oriented approaches be taken to deepen reform and opening-up.

Some in the West hold the view that China's economic success cannot be sustained and it has already sown the seeds of its imminent collapse.

But over the past four decades, especially during the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s and the 2008-09 global financial crisis, Chinese regulators have accumulated rich expertise in macroeconomic regulation and managed to prevent the economy from being derailed by both domestic and external challenges.

Today, the situation may be more complicated than ever. But the long-term upward trajectory of the economy has not changed. China is capable of coping with the many challenges it faces, and holding itself on course to realize its goal of national rejuvenation.