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December 17, 2018

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Period of strategic opportunity ahead

Source: Xinhua | 07:26 UTC+8 December 17, 2018 | Print Edition

THE economic work for next year has been studied at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee in the lead-up to the agenda-setting central economic work conference.

The meeting was more positive in describing China’s external environment than three other key CPC Central Committee economic work meetings this year, according to a research note by CSC Financial, a Chinese investment bank.

Mention of an “important period of strategic opportunity” and repeated references to focusing on domestic affairs means economic policies in 2019 will be more about addressing issues at home, the research note said.

Commenting on the strategic opportunity, Haitong Securities senior researcher Jiang Chao said policies would advance the development of the high-quality manufacturing sector, cultivate a stronger domestic market and speed up economic reforms and opening-up.

“Despite the increasing downward pressure, signals from the meeting are not pessimistic,” Jiang said. “The country should continue to seize the important period of strategic opportunity for development and seek an optimal policy mix and maximum effects.”

Upcoming policy plans will possibly increase the importance of domestic demand in driving economic growth in 2019, according to analysis by investment banking firm CICC.

In addition, the country will stay firm in carrying forward its opening-up following the plans made and pace set, CICC said.

There will be sufficient favorable conditions for the economy next year, analysts said, citing the untapped potential of Chinese consumers.

Analysts said the country’s economy was increasingly driven by consumption with less reliance on international trade.

The National Bureau of Statistics has also unveiled a string of economic indicators showing a pickup in investment and stability in consumer spending as China is set to meet its annual growth target.

Fixed-asset investment, a major growth driver, expanded 5.9 percent year on year in the first 11 months, picking up pace for the third straight month from the bottom in August and exceeding market expectations.

Fixed-asset investment includes capital spent on infrastructure, property, machinery and other physical assets.

The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planner, approved 13 fixed-asset investment projects in November with a combined investment of 24.2 billion yuan (US$3.5 billion), latest data showed.

The projects were primarily in high-tech and transportation sectors.

Retail sales of consumer goods posted a solid increase of 8.1 percent in November in part driven by robust online shopping, according to the statistics bureau.

Given the encouraging trend, “there is no doubt that China will fulfill this year’s growth target of around 6.5 percent,” the bureau’s spokesman Mao Shengyong said, adding that the economy would have a sound foundation in 2019.

Li Wei, head of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said China’s steady and improving economic fundamentals were favorable for its development goals.

“China can well handle the risks and challenges and maintain the healthy trend toward stable growth by giving full play to its advantages,” Li said.

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