Chinese leadership analyzes economic situation, work

BEIJING -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Friday presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to analyze the current economic situation and economic work.

The meeting noted that since the beginning of the year, China's economy and society have fully resumed normal operations.

With frontloaded and synergized macro policies, the "triple pressure" of shrinking demand, supply shocks and weakening expectations has been eased, while economic growth has been better than expected, market demand has been gradually recovering, economic development has shown an upward momentum, and economic operation has got off to a good start, the meeting said.

China's economy is still recovering, with yet-to-be-strengthened intrinsic impetus, insufficient demand and new headwinds in economic transformation and upgrading, the meeting said, noting that there are still many difficulties and challenges in the country's pursuit of high-quality development.

The meeting called for coordinated efforts to promote sustained improvements in economic operations, intrinsic impetus and social expectations, as well as to continuously defuse risks and hidden dangers.

It urged riding on the upward momentum to effectively upgrade and appropriately expand the economy.

China should accelerate the building of a modern industrial system underpinned by the real economy, make breakthroughs in areas of weakness and further expand and enhance its areas of strength, according to the meeting.

It is necessary to consolidate the foundation of self-reliance and strength in science and technology, and to cement and expand the advantages in new-energy vehicle development, the meeting said.

It called for attaching importance to artificial general intelligence and working to foster an innovation-friendly environment and ward off risks.

Reviving and expanding demand is the key to a sustained recovery in the economy. China should pursue a proactive fiscal policy with greater intensity and enhance its performance, and keep the prudent monetary policy targeted and effective, in a bid to create synergy for increasing demand, the meeting said.

It urged efforts to boost residents' incomes through multiple channels, improve the consumption environment and promote service consumption in such fields as culture and tourism.

The guiding role of government investment and policy incentives should be well played to effectively stimulate private investment, the meeting said.

It stressed work to unswervingly consolidate and develop the public sector and to encourage, support and guide the development of the non-public sector. The country should take down all legal and regulatory barriers and hidden constraints that hinder enterprises of all types of ownerships from seeking common development through fair competition, it said.

Efforts should also be made to continue boosting the confidence of business entities and help companies recover strength for development, as well as to foster the well-regulated and sound development of platform companies, and encourage leading firms in the sector to explore and innovate, the meeting noted.

The country should deepen reforms in all respects and promote high-standard opening up, according to the meeting.

The plan on reforming Party and state institutions should be well implemented to advance the modernization of the governance system and capacity, it said.

More importance should be attached to drawing foreign investment, the meeting said, urging support for pilot free trade zones and free trade ports to align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and to trial reform and opening-up moves.

Efforts should be made to effectively prevent and defuse risks in key areas, the meeting pointed out.

While adhering to the principle that housing is for living in, not for speculation, China should adopt city-specific measures, support people's demand for essential housing and their need for better housing, and ensure timely deliveries of pre-sold housing, according to the meeting.

It demanded efforts to promote the stable and healthy development of the property sector and forge a new development model in the sector.

The meeting also called for strengthening the management of local government debt and resolutely curbing new hidden debt.

Continuous efforts should be made to properly prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic, it noted.

It is necessary to guarantee and improve people's livelihoods, strengthen the employment-first policy, broaden the employment channels for college graduates and maintain stable employment for key groups including migrant workers, the meeting said.

It also stressed the importance of work safety and the power supply during the summer peak time.