SCIO briefing on national economic performance in 2014
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China.org.cn, January 20, 2015
CCTV:
As we see, China's GDP grew by 7.4 percent in 2014. How would you explain the relationship between the GDP and the "reasonable range," which was set at the beginning of last year? And how would you evaluate China's economic performance in 2014?
Ma Jiantang:
Thank you for your question. In 2014, we overcame many challenges and difficulties, withstood economic downward pressure and eventually achieved a growth rate of 7.4 percent. It's fair to say that we have achieved the target of around 7.5 percent which we set last year. At the "Lianghui" (NPC and CPPCC) last year and the Central Economic Work Conference at the end of 2013, the expected economic growth rate in 2015 was set at around 7.5 percent.
The past year has been tough and remarkable as we have experienced many ups and downs. The most important thing was that the world economy had witnessed a bumpy, sluggish and complicated recovery. The three periods, namely the gear shifting period of economic growth, the period of structural readjustment and the period of digesting stimulating policy, heaped pressures on the economy. Most of us can identify with these conditions. Facing the severe situation and complex reform and development tasks, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council stuck to making progress while ensuring stability, implementing proactive financial policies and prudent monetary policies, and focused on promoting reform and innovation and cultivating a new driving force. It was truly not easy to achieve such progress.
With regard to the 7.4 percent growth, when we evaluate it, the criteria should adapt to the "new normal," and the evaluation itself also needs to be readjusted. The 7.4 percent growth rate was achieved by overcoming many difficulties and challenges. It is in line with the rules of the current shift of economic growth mode under the "new normal." In addition, the 7.4 percent growth rate is not low in an international sense. It is a growth speed. Behind it, out nation's economic aggregate reached 63.6 trillion yuan. The increment totaling US$800 billion, measured at current prices, is not a small figure. Therefore, the 7.4 percent remains within the reasonable range and fulfills the annual economic growth target. At the same time, the CPI growth rate reached 2 percent, relatively slow. The general public enjoyed low prices. Employment was stable in general. The purpose of keeping a steady growth rate is to stabilize employment and people's wellbeing. According to the figures released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the number of new entrants to the labor force in China's urban area was 13.22 million last year, beating the 10-million target.
I have mentioned moments ago that the newly added jobs in China's urban urea totaled 10.7 million last year, according to the figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics. We also had a surveyed unemployment rate of last year, which was around 5.1% last year. The economic growth rate reaching 7.4 percent, the urban newly added employment population was 13.22 million, the surveyed unemployment rate remained stable around 5.1 percent and CPI increased 2 percent. These four indexes demonstrate that China's economy is still within reasonable range.
How should we evaluate the economic performance in 2014? First, the overall situation was stable as we have seen from the above-mentioned figures. Second, the structure became optimized. From the perspective of industrial structure, the ratio of services increased continuously, which means that China's economic focus is shifting from the industrial sector to services at a quicker pace. The volume of the added value of the tertiary industry increased by 8.1 percent in 2014, higher than 7.3 percent for primary indsutry and 4.1 percent for secondary indsutry. The ratio of services amounted to 48.2 percent in 2014 and it is also an important index for evaluating China's economy.
In terms of the structure of the driving forces of the economy, traditional industries, heavy industries and raw material commodities encountered many difficulties in 2014. At the same time, the new products, new industries, new business types and modes featuring mobile Internet kept burgeoning and flourishing. China's economy is clearly shifting towards the middle and high end. Let me give you some figures.
First, the high-tech industries increased by 12.3 percent, 4 percentages higher than the growth in added value of the industrial enterprises above designated size, whith its ratio reaching 10.6%, 0.7 percentages higher than 2013. The equipment manufacturing industries grew by 10.5 percent, 2.2 percentages higher than the growth rate of industries above designate size; its ratio increased by 1.2 percentages. Those are the new driving force of the industrial sector.
Second, newly emerging business types related to the Internet and e-commerce developed rapidly. The online retail volume across the nation increased by 49.7 percent and the business volume of express delivery increased by 51.9 percent last year. Peer-to-peer lending continued to surge and telecommunication and information consumption also increased a lot. Although traditional industries suffered setbacks last year in China, new products, trades, industries, business types and modes have quickly and the new driving force is burgeoning. That's where our hopes are pinned upon.
Third, the urbanization rate kept growing steadily. Now there are 750 million people living in urban areas. This is a remarkable breakthrough and an impressive transformation in China's history , though it came about over a long period rather than one year.
Among the three structures of demand, the share of consumption is on the rise; the regional development structure is becoming optimized and the income structure is also improving. So we need to note that the growth rate of 7.4 percent is within reasonable range. What's more, China's economy has experienced profound changes, which can demonstrate future trends.
Next, the quality of economic performance has been improved. China's economy has entered the "new normal." We need to adapt to it and form a correct understanding about it. The important point is that we need to lay more emphasis on the quality and efficiency of economic development while maintaining a steady growth rate.
The quality of China's economy is improving. First, its annual labor productivity improved last year. Per capita labor productivity reached 72,313 yuan, up 7 percent compared to the figure of 2013. The concept is derived from the GDP divided by the number of employed persons. Secondly, the energy consumption of per unit GDP decreased by 4.8 percent. Why is this so remarkable? The service industry is growing and the new emerging, high-tech industries with low energy consumption have developed rapidly. In contrast, the growth of heavy industries with high energy consumption slowed down.
Fourth, the people's wellbeing has been improved. What is development for? Essentially, it is to increase people's incomes. In 2014, the per capita disposable income in the country reached 20,167 yuan, up 10.1 percent. Adjusted for inflation, the actual growth rate was 8 percent. The per capita disposable income of urban residents increased by 6.8 percent and that of rural residents grew by 9.2 percent. During the first 11 months, the fiscal revenue grew by 8.3 percent and the profit of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 5.3 percent. The operating revenue of services was up 9.1 percent. All the figures can be used to make comparison. The most part of the improvement of people's wellbeing is employment, which is the fundamentals of the people's livelihood and the main source of people's incomes.
All in all, 2014 was not easy. Faced with many difficulties, we have made great progress in maintaining steady economic growth, optimizing economic structure, improving quality and the people's livelihood. Thank you.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)