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Dec
On December 9, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held a meeting. The meeting emphasized that this year is a crucial one for achieving the goals and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan. Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the Party and the people of all ethnic groups across the country have responded calmly and made comprehensive policies. As a result, the overall economic operation has been stable, with progress made amidst stability. China's economic strength, technological capabilities, and comprehensive national power have continued to grow. New types of productive forces are steadily developing, reform and opening-up are deepening, risks in key areas are being addressed in an orderly and effective manner, and the protection of people's livelihoods has been solid and effective. The main economic and social development goals for the year are expected to be successfully completed. So, where does the "stability" of China’s social and economic development come from this year? And what is the driving force behind the "progress"?
As the year draws to a close, despite the nationwide drop in temperatures, consumption and production remain strong. In Taiyuan, Shanxi, many people are visiting flower markets, choosing beautiful flowers to add vibrancy to the winter. In Shenyang, Liaoning, a company producing magnetic levitation flywheel products is operating at full capacity to meet the year-end orders. In Guangxi, the key project of the Western Land-Sea New Corridor— the Pinglu Canal— has entered the golden period for construction during the dry season. Once completed, the canal will shorten the sea transport route by 560 kilometers for goods from the southwest region.
The dynamic consumption and production reflect the stable development of China’s economy and society this year. From a macro perspective, in 2024, China’s economic operation has remained generally stable, with progress made amidst stability, and the main economic and social development goals are expected to be successfully achieved.
Liu Qing, Executive Dean of the National Academy of Development and Strategy at Renmin University of China, remarked, "I think the achievements in economic development this year are hard-earned and truly valuable. Among the world’s major economies, China’s economic growth rate is still one of the highest."
In 2024, the industrial structure continues to transform and upgrade in the process of high-quality development, laying a solid foundation for the stable growth of China’s economy. In the first three quarters of the year, the industrial added value above designated size increased by 5.8% year-on-year, accelerating by 1.8 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Among them, the added value of equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing industries above designated size grew by 7.5% and 9.1% year-on-year, respectively.
Driven by reform and opening-up, China’s foreign trade showed impressive performance in 2024. In the first 11 months of the year, the total value of China’s goods trade reached 39.79 trillion yuan, a 4.9% year-on-year increase. In each of the first three quarters, the total import and export value exceeded 10 trillion yuan, marking the first time this has ever occurred in history. Notably, automatic data processing equipment and its components, integrated circuits, and automobiles all achieved double-digit growth.
“We predict that the trade surplus will exceed 950 billion USD for the whole year, which is an excellent result. Despite the turbulence in the global political and economic landscape, our international competitiveness has been able to stand out, which fully demonstrates the strength of our industrial base and industrial competitiveness.”
In 2024, the protection of people’s livelihoods has been solid and effective. In terms of the implementation of major national strategies and the enhancement of security capabilities in key areas—referred to as the "Two Major" constructions—by early December, the 7 trillion yuan in ultra-long-term special government bonds for these constructions had been fully allocated in three batches to projects. The focus has been on accelerating high-level technological self-reliance, improving food and energy security capabilities, and promoting high-quality population development, all of which are critical to national security and long-term development.
An additional 300 billion yuan has been allocated to further support large-scale equipment upgrades and the replacement of old consumer goods. Under the policies of "Two New" (new equipment and new consumption), data from VAT invoices show that from January to November this year, the retail sales of household audiovisual equipment such as televisions and daily household appliances like refrigerators increased by 15.9% and 18.7%, respectively, year-on-year. These growth rates were 11.4 and 14.2 percentage points higher than the overall retail sales growth.
The mutual promotion of consumption and investment has stabilized the overall operation of the economy this year. With policy support, the integration of culture and tourism has continued to innovate, and new consumption formats such as "first store economy" and "first release economy" have emerged. Various new business formats and models have also provided new momentum for boosting consumption, making consumption a key engine for economic growth.
In 2024, China has successfully resolved risks in key sectors in an orderly and effective manner. Looking back at China’s economic development this year, it has not been entirely smooth. In the second half of the year, especially after the third quarter, market confidence and effective demand were insufficient, and social expectations were relatively weak. At a critical moment, starting from September 24, the central government introduced a package of incremental policies, enhancing counter-cyclical macroeconomic regulation, expanding domestic demand, increasing support for enterprises, stabilizing the real estate market, boosting the capital market, and promoting economic stabilization and recovery. Over two months since the implementation of the package, both short-term and medium-term effects have already started to show.
2025 marks the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan. The Central Political Bureau meeting on December 9 emphasized that to successfully carry out economic work next year, we must adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, fully and accurately implement the new development philosophy, accelerate the formation of a new development pattern, and push for high-quality development, ensuring the successful completion of the 14th Five-Year Plan's goals and tasks, and laying a solid foundation for a strong start to the 15th Five-Year Plan.
In 2024, we have overcome difficulties, responded calmly, strengthened macroeconomic regulation, focused on deepening reform and opening up, expanding domestic demand, and optimizing the economic structure. As a result, economic operation has been generally stable, with progress made amid stability, and high-quality development has advanced steadily. Currently, China’s development faces many uncertainties and challenges. To succeed in economic work for 2025, we must maintain unwavering confidence in victory. This requires the joint efforts and hard work of the entire Party and society to relentlessly strive toward achieving next year’s economic and social development goals and create a new chapter in our development.
(Translated by ZHANG Yuqing; Proofread by YANG Fanxin)
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