Key Party meeting decides major economic measures

Economy: Suggestions from other parties also heard

China will work harder next year to coordinate its pandemic response and socioeconomic development, comprehensively intensify reform and opening-up, boost market confidence and expand domestic demand, according to a key Party meeting on Tuesday.

Emphasis will be placed on stabilizing growth, employment and prices in order to boost the economy.

The meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, presided over by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, analyzed the key measures for economic work in 2023.

Meeting participants underlined the need to adhere to the overarching principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability for next year's economic work. They also called for comprehensive and faithful implementation of the new development philosophy, and stepping up the building of the new development paradigm with a focus on advancing high-quality growth and better coordinating development and security, according to a statement released on Wednesday.

The participants said implementation of the strategy to increase domestic demand should be combined with work to deepen supply-side structural reform. Measures should also be put in place to prevent and defuse major risks.

The implementation of a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy will continue in 2023, the statement said. Coordination of and synergy between various policies should be strengthened, and measures for pandemic prevention and control should be optimized so that they jointly boost high-quality growth, it added.

The meeting's participants highlighted that proactive fiscal policy measures need to be reinforced to improve efficiency, and prudent monetary policy measures need to be precise and forceful. They said that industrial policy needs to take development and security into account, while policies related to science and technology need to focus on self-reliance to achieve greater progress, and the social policy needs to ensure people's basic livelihoods.

Efforts should be made to expand domestic demand by fully leveraging the "fundamental role of consumption" and "the key role of investment". Construction of a modernized industrial system should also be accelerated in order to improve the resilience and security of industry and supply chains, the statement said.

While underscoring the need to advance high-quality opening-up and make greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign capital, the statement also stressed the importance of preventing and diffusing major economic and financial risks to ensure that systemic risks are avoided.

The meeting's participants called for coordinated efforts in key areas to uphold social harmony and stability. These include ensuring stable prices and the supply of daily necessities, coal, electricity, oil and gas as well as the operation of logistics. The participants also called for helping people facing difficulties, ensuring migrant workers get paid on time, and taking measures to ensure work safety measures as well as disaster prevention and relief work.

On Dec 2, the CPC Central Committee held a symposium with non-CPC personages to solicit opinions and suggestions on this year's economic situation and the economic work for next year. The symposium, presided over by Xi, is an important way to practice socialist consultative democracy and build a broad consensus before decisions about major issues are made.

During the meeting, leaders of the eight non-Communist parties and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, as well as a representative of personages without party affiliation, put forward their suggestions on issues related to the nation's economic development. The suggestions covered areas such as promoting green and low-carbon development, mobilizing and protecting private investment, boosting consumption and increasing employment, as well as optimizing targeted pandemic response measures.

Xi briefed the participants about the nation's economic development amid the volatile changes in the international landscape as well as the situation China faces in ensuring reform, development and stability.

He urged them to continue to carry out in-depth research on major issues centered around pandemic prevention and control, increasing domestic consumption, high-level independence and self-reliance in the science and technology sector and boosting the vitality of micro and small businesses. Xi encouraged them to put forward their suggestions to help the CPC make decisions.

Rigorous Party governance

During Tuesday's meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the CPC leadership also discussed steps to improve Party conduct and combat corruption.

The meeting's participants urged strict adherence to the CPC Central Committee's eight-point decision on improving Party and government conduct, and underlined the need to take stringent action against hedonism and extravagance.

They underscored a tough and protracted battle against corruption. The focus should be on fighting corruption that involves both political and economic elements, corruption in sectors with high concentrations of power, funds and resources, and corrupt low-ranking officials, whose misconduct directly affects people's lives, they said.

Before the meeting, Xi chaired a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. A briefing was given on the work of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision and preparation for the second plenary session of the 20th CCDI. The meeting decided that the session will take place from Jan 9 to 11.