Confidence and expectations key to economic recovery in 2023

Boosting confidence and stabilizing expectations are vital for China's economic recovery in 2023 as multiple provincial-level governments have announced incentive measures to spur recovery this year, according to Zhang Yansheng, chief researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

Stabilizing foreign trade and expanding domestic demands are also key factors for this year's economy, he added.

Twenty-three provinces and cities such as Guangdong, Shandong, Hebei, Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Fujian, Gansu, Chongqing and Shaanxi have released a series of policies to boost domestic demands, optimize the business environment, stimulate the vitality of market entities and deepen innovation, according to a report from CCTV News on Tuesday.

For example, Guangdong province aims to launch 1,530 key projects in 2023, with an overall investment of 8.4 trillion yuan ($1.24 trillion).

According to Wu Dongwen, deputy director general of the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Guangdong province, investment in basic projects and industries will take up 61 and 31 percent, respectively, while investment in people's livelihood will account for 7 percent of the total.

Manufacturing accounts for one-third of all industrial projects this year and the total investment in this sector is expected to reach 100 billion yuan, he said.

The regions' economic plans have their distinguished features, Zhang said. For example, Shanghai is focusing on optimizing the business environment, Guangdong holds high-quality development as a top priority, Zhejiang will build the province into a high-level innovative hub, while Hubei will become a pilot area for a new development paradigm.

"The action plan of Shanghai's optimization of the business environment is very encouraging," Zhang said, adding that improving facilitation and efficiency, addressing weaknesses in the business environment and benchmarking the new evaluation method of the World Bank will be the three steps taken by the city this year.