He Lifeng, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, recently stated that the current international and domestic economic environment remains complex and volatile, the world economy still faces many unstable and uncertain factors, and there are many phenomena of "short-term stability amid long-term concerns"; domestically, supply-side structural reform is in a deepening phase, the poor circulation of the real economy remains a serious problem, and the foundation for stable economic operation is not yet solid.
In response, in the second half of the year the NDRC will carry out nine areas of work, including deepening supply-side reform, expanding investment, and transforming old and new growth drivers, to maintain the continuity and stability of macroeconomic policy. At the same time, it will use the "Belt and Road" initiative to lead high-level opening-up, actively expand household consumption and effective investment, cultivate and strengthen new growth drivers and upgrade traditional ones, vigorously support green development, and ensure the bottom line of safeguarding and improving people's livelihoods.
After the NDRC recently introduced policies to stabilize growth and promote investment and approved a batch of local infrastructure investment projects in quick succession, many provinces and cities across China, including Xinjiang, Guizhou, Shandong, Heilongjiang, and Hubei, have also rolled out various investment-promotion policies to sustain investment growth in the second half of the year.
In this regard, industry experts say that further advancing fixed-asset investment remains an important means of driving the economy. The NDRC said that in the second half of the year it will accelerate the implementation of various investment-promotion policies and the construction of major projects, further implement policies to promote private investment, introduce detailed policy measures, improve the business environment for enterprises, and stimulate the vitality of private investment. At the same time, it will continue to vigorously innovate and promote the PPP model, encourage local governments to use various PPP operating methods to revitalize existing assets, accelerate the improvement of pricing and charging standards, establish reasonable investment return mechanisms in relevant sectors, and attract private investment participation.