Zhu Xian, IFF Vice President and Secretary-General, and Dr. Xia Le, IFF Academic Committee Member, the Chief Asia Economist of BBVA, shared their opinions on China’s economic outlook and growth target at interviews by CGTN in the past week.
“China is transforming from high-speed development to high-quality development. Through more effective policy support, China’s economy will enhance productivity and resilience, and provide better services and goods for domestic and global consumers,” said Zhu.
Dr. Xia said China’s economy still faces challenges including interest rate hikes in Europe and the United States and economic recessions and uneven internal recovery. He thinks financial institutions should better support small and medium-sized tech enterprises to create more jobs and help the country transfer to an innovation-driven economy.
Completion of IFF permanent site construction in sight
The construction of the IFF permanent conference site is near its end, said Zhang Meifei who is in charge of the project.
More than 2,000 workers are currently working on the site’s mechanical and electrical settings, furnishing and municipal landscaping to ensure that the complex can be put into use this year.
Located on the eastern tip of Hengli Island, Pearl Bay area, Nansha New Area, Guangzhou, the site composes of a multi-purpose international conference centre complex, an international conference service centre and supporting guest villas.
China sets growth target of around 5% for 2023
China set a growth target of around 5% for 2023 at its annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) on Sunday.
Premier Li Keqiang laid out the growth target in his work report delivered to the NPC. Chinese economy expanded by 3% in 2022.
The government aimed to create around 12 million jobs this year, targeting an urban unemployment rate of 5.5%.
Li set a budget deficit of 3% of GDP, up from a target of 2.8% last year.
The country’s inflation target was set at 3%.
The country’s defence budget will be 1.5537 trillion yuan this year, up by 7.2%, slightly higher than last year’s increase of 7.1%.
China consumer prices ease in February
China’s consumer prices eased in February on weaker demands, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1% from a year earlier. On a monthly basis, the CPI fell 0.5% from January.
Core inflation which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.6% in February from a year earlier.
The producer price index fell 1.4% from a year earlier and prices remained unchanged on a monthly basis, according to the NBS.
China Jan-Feb trade dips further
China’s trade dropped again in January and February, official data showed on Tuesday.
Exports in the two months dropped 6.8% from a year earlier to $506.3 billion, up from December’s drop of 10.1%. Imports fell 10.2% to $389.4 billion, down from December’s decline of 7.3%.
China’s trade surplus edged up 0.8% from a year earlier to $116.9 billion.
China’s central bank to keep Yuan steady against the dollar
China will keep yuan’s interest against the dollar basically steady, said the governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Yi Gang on Friday.
The PBOC will strengthen support for tech innovation, manufacturing, green and energy sector this year, said Yi at a news conference before the annual congress.
The central bank will provide forceful financial support for the stable and healthy development of the economy.
China to set up a new financial regulator
China is to set up a new financial regulator to replace the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), according to a proposal submitted to the National People’s Congress on Tuesday.
The National Financial Regulatory Administration will be directly under the State Council.
Under the proposal, China’s securities regulator will be also directly supervised by the State Council.
The new financial regulator will take the responsibilities of the CBIRC as well as some functions of the central bank and securities regulator, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).
The plan also proposed stuff numbers at the central-level state institutions be cut by 5%.
The legislature will vote on the institutional reform plan on Friday.
China to establish national data bureau
China will set up a national data bureau to coordinate the integration and sharing of data resources, according to a reform plan submitted to the national legislature on Tuesday.
The proposed bureau will be administered by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
Certain functions of the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and the NDRC will be transferred to the new bureau, said the plan on reforming State Council institutions.
Japan posts record current account deficit in January
Japan posted its largest current account deficit in January, its Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.
The country’s current account deficit in January hit 1.98 trillion yen, the biggest on record. The current account is a measure of Japan’s trade and investment with the rest of the world.
The primary income surplus rose 350 billion yen from a year earlier to 2.29 trillion yen last month.
The US president aims to cut deficits by nearly $3 trillion
President Joe Biden’s budget proposal will aim to cut deficits by nearly $3 trillion over 10 years, the White House said on Wednesday.
The target is far higher than the $2 trillion that Biden promised in his State of the Union address in February.
He will also propose raising taxes on companies and people making more than $400,000 a year.
"It proposes tax reforms to ensure the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share while cutting wasteful spending on special interest interests, like Big Oil and Big Pharma," said White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre during a press conference.
US services sector expands in February
The US services sector expanded in February, data from the Institute for Supply Management survey showed on Friday.
The services sector PMI dipped to 55.1 in February from January’s 55.2. The 50-mark separates expansion from contraction.
Thirteen services industries, including construction, retail trade, accommodation and food services and professional, scientific and technical services, recorded growth in February. Four industries including wholesale trade and information reported contraction.
