At the Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of last year, General Secretary Xi Jinping comprehensively summarized the economic work of 2023, profoundly analyzed the current economic situation, and systematically deployed the economic work for 2024, providing fundamental guidance and a course of action for doing economic work well now and in the period ahead. We must earnestly study, understand, and fully implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy, comprehensively deepen reform and opening up, promote high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, intensify macroeconomic regulation, coordinate the expansion of domestic demand with the deepening of supply-side structural reform, coordinate new urbanization with comprehensive rural revitalization, coordinate high-quality development with high-level security, effectively enhance economic vitality, prevent and defuse risks, and improve social expectations, consolidate and strengthen the momentum of economic recovery and improvement, and continue to promote effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth of the economy, so as to comprehensively advance the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization.

Deeply understand the overall situation facing China's current economic development

Since last year, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, we have adhered to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, withstood external pressure and overcome internal difficulties, focused on expanding domestic demand, optimizing structure, boosting confidence, and preventing and defusing risks, promoted sustained economic recovery and development, and taken solid steps in comprehensively building a modern socialist country.

In 2023, China successfully achieved the main expected goals of economic and social development, laying a solid foundation for this year's economic development. China's economy has developed in a wave-like manner, advanced through twists and turns, and shown a trend of improvement, growing continuously while overcoming challenges, demonstrating vigorous vitality, inexhaustible momentum, and enormous potential, and generally presenting the characteristics of "stability," "progress," and "improvement." The economy has generally recovered and improved. In the first three quarters of 2023, GDP grew by 4.5%, 6.3%, and 4.9% year on year respectively, and by 5.2% year on year in the first three quarters; employment and prices were generally stable, the balance of payments was basically balanced, and the scale of foreign exchange reserves remained stable at more than 3 trillion US dollars. The economic structure has been further adjusted and optimized. The leading role of internal circulation has been significantly enhanced, and in the first three quarters domestic demand contributed 113% to economic growth; traditional industries have accelerated transformation and upgrading, strategic emerging industries have flourished, future industries have been laid out in an orderly manner, and the conversion of old and new growth drivers has accelerated. High-quality development has been solidly advanced. The construction of a unified national market has been accelerated, the business environment has been further optimized, and in the first three quarters the number of newly established business entities increased by 12.7% year on year. Residents' income grew faster than the economy, and in the first three quarters the national per capita disposable income of residents increased by 5.9% year on year in real terms.

China's development faces both opportunities and challenges, with favorable conditions outweighing unfavorable factors. From the perspective of risks and challenges, profound changes unseen in a century are accelerating, the international balance of power is undergoing profound adjustments, major-country rivalry is becoming more intense, geopolitical conflicts are intensifying, and under the constraints of high inflation, high debt, and high interest rates, the momentum of world economic growth is weakening, risks and challenges are increasing, and the adverse impact of the external environment on China's development is growing. At the same time, domestic effective demand is insufficient, overcapacity exists in some industries, social expectations are weak, and there are still many hidden risks, all of which require us to work hard to resolve in the course of development. From the perspective of development opportunities, the pursuit of peace and development remains the common aspiration of the people of all countries, economic globalization remains the general trend, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is reshaping the world economic structure, and adjustments in the global political and economic landscape contain new opportunities. China is a major source of power and a stabilizer for global growth, its position in the world economy is constantly being consolidated and enhanced, and its international influence, appeal, and shaping power are continuously strengthening, which is conducive to creating a more favorable international environment and providing more solid strategic support for comprehensively advancing the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization. At the same time, the institutional advantages of China's socialist market economy, the demand advantages of its super-large-scale market, the supply advantages of its complete industrial system, and the talent advantages of its large number of high-quality workers and entrepreneurs continue to emerge, the resilience and security level of industrial and supply chains are constantly improving, comprehensive deepening of reform is injecting new momentum into development, the factor conditions supporting high-quality development are constantly gathering and increasing, there is still ample room for macroeconomic policy, and development has strong resilience, sufficient potential, and broad room for maneuver; the basic trend of economic recovery, improvement, and long-term positive development has not changed.

Adhere to seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting stability through progress, and establishing the new before abolishing the old

The Central Economic Work Conference required "adhering to seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting stability through progress, and establishing the new before abolishing the old," which demonstrates the Party Central Committee's accurate grasp of the times and trends from a strategic overall perspective, has very important guiding significance for doing economic work well now and in the period ahead, and we must earnestly understand its profound connotations.

Adhere to seeking progress while maintaining stability, with stability being the overall situation and the foundation. The general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability is an important principle of our Party's governance and also a methodology for doing economic work well. The focus of stability should be placed on stabilizing economic operations and ensuring that growth, employment, and prices do not fluctuate significantly. Reform is the driving force, development is the goal, and stability is the prerequisite. An important experience in China's historic achievements in economic development is adhering to the coordinated advancement of reform, development, and stability. Since the beginning of reform and opening up, China has adhered to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, continuously improved systems and mechanisms in all respects, comprehensively deepened reform in key areas, and constantly demonstrated institutional advantages and improved national governance effectiveness; actively given play to the strategic guiding role of national development plans, adhered to a systematic approach, done overall planning well, balanced the present and the long term, scientifically implemented macroeconomic regulation, and promoted stable economic operation; under the premise of maintaining overall social stability, actively and steadily promoted reform and development in a gradual and orderly manner, and by using increments to drive stock, continuously promoted growth, optimized structure, and improved quality and efficiency, creating the two miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability. In practical work, we must closely connect with economic operations, focus on prominent contradictions in development, introduce more policies conducive to stabilizing expectations, growth, and employment, prudently introduce contractionary and inhibitory measures, strengthen economic publicity and public opinion guidance, actively boost development confidence, and strive to maintain stable and healthy economic development, creating favorable conditions for "progress."

Adhere to promoting stability through progress, with progress being the direction and driving force. The focus of progress should be placed on adjusting the economic structure and deepening reform and opening up, seizing the strategic initiative in work such as stabilizing economic growth, guiding social expectations, and preventing and defusing risks, and actively striving in transforming the development model, adjusting the structure, improving quality, and increasing efficiency, so as to continuously consolidate the foundation for steady improvement. Only with stable economic and social development can a stable macroeconomic environment be created for adjusting the economic structure and deepening reform and opening up; only with substantive progress in adjusting the economic structure and deepening reform and opening up can good expectations and new momentum be created for stable and healthy economic and social operation and the realization of high-quality development. On the new journey, we must grasp the relationship between stability and progress, adhere to pursuing development amid overall stability and solving difficult problems amid development and progress, and ensure that economic development is steady and far-reaching. In practical work, we must focus on the central task of economic construction and the primary task of high-quality development, actively strive and pioneer and innovate, seize all favorable opportunities, use all favorable conditions, unswervingly comprehensively deepen reform and opening up, strengthen reform in key areas and key links, build a new system of a higher-level open economy, accelerate scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, build a modern industrial system, and continuously stimulate and release the endogenous driving force of economic growth.

Adhere to establishing the new before abolishing the old, and take a holistic and dialectical approach to stability and progress. Stability and progress, establishing and abolishing are dialectically unified and complementary, and must be grasped as a whole. What should be established must be actively and proactively established, making good use of scientific and reasonable new mechanisms, new experience, and new rules to create new growth drivers. What should be abolished must be resolutely abolished on the basis of establishment, and systems, mechanisms, and policy measures that do not meet the requirements of the new era must be abolished in a timely manner. At the same time, we must proceed steadily and solidly, respect objective laws, grasp the timing, degree, and effect, and must not divorce ourselves from reality or be eager for quick success; we must avoid a one-size-fits-all approach and strive to achieve the best results. In practical work, we must coordinate the dialectical relationship between establishing and abolishing, strengthen forward-looking planning, strategic layout, and holistic advancement, actively and steadily, swiftly and steadily do all work well, promote the continuous conversion of old and new growth drivers, and accelerate the shaping of new advantages for high-quality development while consolidating the foundation and cultivating the vital forces. First, we must know how to establish, continuously improve the top-level design of systems, do a good job in connecting annual work with medium- and long-term goals and tasks, continue to deepen supply-side structural reform, focus on expanding effective demand, steadily advance the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and continuously cultivate new growth drivers and new advantages; second, we must be good at abolishing, and reform outdated old systems and recurring old problems in light of the times and local conditions, continuously remove institutional and mechanistic obstacles restricting high-quality development, and continuously liberate and develop productive forces.

Vigorously grasp implementation and do this year's economic work well

We must earnestly implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech at the Central Economic Work Conference, profoundly grasp the overall requirements and policy orientation of economic work, thoroughly implement the Party Central Committee's decisions and arrangements on economic work, consolidate and strengthen the momentum of economic recovery and improvement, and continue to promote effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth of the economy.

Intensify macroeconomic regulation. Strengthen countercyclical and cross-cyclical adjustment of macroeconomic policies; the proactive fiscal policy should be appropriately strengthened, improve quality and increase efficiency; and the prudent monetary policy should be flexible and moderate, precise and effective. Enhance the consistency of macroeconomic policy orientation, strengthen the coordination and cooperation of fiscal, monetary, employment, industrial, regional, scientific and technological, and environmental protection policies, incorporate non-economic policies into the assessment of the consistency of macroeconomic policy orientation, strengthen policy coordination, and ensure that efforts are directed toward the same goal and form a synergy.

Accelerate the building of a modern industrial system. Strengthen the national strategic scientific and technological strength, adhere to the integrated deployment of the innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain, and talent chain, deeply implement the action for high-quality development of key industrial chains, and develop new quality productive forces. Vigorously advance new industrialization, develop the digital economy, and accelerate the development of artificial intelligence. Build a number of strategic emerging industries and open up new tracks for future industries. Widely apply digital and intelligent technologies and green technologies, and accelerate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries.

Unswervingly expand effective domestic demand. Actively cultivate new consumption growth points such as smart homes, cultural and entertainment tourism, sports events, and domestic "trendy products." Stabilize and expand traditional consumption, and boost bulk consumption such as new energy vehicles and electronic products. Vigorously and orderly advance the 102 major projects of the 14th Five-Year Plan and other major projects in economic and social fields, and accelerate the construction of projects for post-disaster recovery and reconstruction and for improving disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief capabilities.

Comprehensively deepen reform in key areas. Accelerate the building of a unified national market, focus on breaking down various forms of local protection and market segmentation, and create a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized. Deeply implement the action for deepening and upgrading the reform of state-owned enterprises, and improve the modern corporate governance of state-owned enterprises with Chinese characteristics. Promote the development and growth of private enterprises, and smooth the channels for private enterprises to reflect their demands and solve problems.

Expand high-level opening up. Promote the stabilization of the scale and optimization of the structure of foreign trade, and expand trade in intermediate goods, trade in services, digital trade, and cross-border e-commerce exports. Deeply implement the strategy of upgrading pilot free trade zones, and promote the granting of more autonomy to pilot free trade zones, the Hainan Free Trade Port, and others. Stabilize and expand the scale of utilized foreign investment, and continuously improve the quality and level of outbound investment. Ensure the implementation of the eight actions supporting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Prevent and defuse risks in key areas. Coordinate the resolution of risks in real estate, local debt, small and medium-sized financial institutions, and others, and resolutely hold the bottom line of preventing systemic risks. Implement city-specific policies and make full and good use of the policy toolbox to support rigid and improved housing demand. Accelerate the construction of affordable housing, the construction of public infrastructure for both normal and emergency use, and the renovation of urban villages. Establish a long-term mechanism for preventing and defusing local debt risks, and optimize the debt structure.

Advance agricultural and rural modernization. Do a good job in the production of grain and important agricultural products, solidly advance a new round of the action to increase grain production capacity by 100 billion jin, raise the investment standards for high-standard farmland construction, and effectively ensure the production and supply of agricultural inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Increase support for major grain-producing counties and promote the improvement of public service capabilities. Accelerate the upgrading of rural industries and develop rural industries that enrich the people. Study and apply the experience of the "Ten Million Project" to build a beautiful and harmonious countryside that is livable and conducive to work.

Promote urban-rural integration and coordinated regional development. Advance new urbanization with county seats as important carriers, and promote the stable employment of agricultural transfer population in cities and towns. Deeply implement major regional strategies, advance the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, and the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, and advance the construction of Xiong'an New Area with high standards and high quality.

Deeply advance green and low-carbon development. Coordinate the integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts, continue to deepen the battle against pollution, and accelerate the filling of shortcomings and weaknesses in environmental infrastructure. Improve the mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products and improve the ecological protection compensation system. Solidly advance the "Ten Actions for Carbon Peaking" and accelerate the building of a new energy system. Accelerate energy-saving and carbon-reduction transformation in key industries and important enterprises, and vigorously develop the circular economy.

Effectively do a good job in ensuring people's livelihood. Do a good job in the employment of key groups, and promote flexible employment through multiple channels. Advance in a classified and step-by-step manner the provision of basic public services at the place of permanent residence, and promote the convenient sharing of public services such as education and medical care. Improve the policy system for supporting childbirth, improve service systems such as inclusive childcare and inclusive elderly care, and develop the silver economy. Strengthen the guarantee and coordination of coal, electricity, oil, gas, and transportation, and effectively do a good job in ensuring the supply and stabilizing the prices of important commodities.