Issue No.7, 2017 (Total 93)

2017-9-30

In August 2017, the growth rate of supply-side and demand-side economic performance continued to fall back by a small margin. The industrial value increased by 6% year on year, declining by 0.4 percentage points compared with June. The growth rate of industrial electricity consumption volume fell to the lowest point of this year and the growth rate of transport volume dropped moderately. The growth rate of fixed asset investment declined sharply and that of private investment continued to decline. Meanwhile, the growth rate of the total retail sales of consumer goods and export was also reduced. However, the supply-side structural reform continued to generate effects and PPT picked up by a small margin. Domestic enterprises continued to perform well with improved profit-earning and debt-paying capacity. In August, China continued to witness positive effects brought about by the adjustment and regulation of the real estate market. Housing prices in the most sought-after cities became stable and the inventory buildups of houses continued to fall, coinciding with steadily increased real estate investment. The growth rate of credit and social financing stock maintained a high level and the foreign exchange reserves rebounded for 7 months in a run. In a comprehensive view, the fluctuations of main economic indicators are mainly caused by short-term factors, while the steady and sound economic growth momentum will remain unchanged. In the rest months of the year, efforts need to be made to strike a balance between deleveraging and maintaining fluidity in an appropriate manner through macro regulation measures. While keeping the economic performance stable, we need to focus on improving the quality of growth and push ahead with the implementation of reform measures in major fields and key links. We need to steadily improve the business environment, lower the threshold for market access and make the service industry become more open-oriented both at home and abroad. We need to adopt more measures based on market rules and laws to force “zombie” enterprises to quit the market and promote the restructuring of resources. We need to use relevant measures to cut taxes and fees, reduce administrative intervention and inappropriate control, promote the combination of new technologies, new modes and traditional industries, motivate private investors, unleash the growth potential of efficient investment and steadily consolidate the foundation of the economy to ensure a stable and sustainable growth.