ITAR-TASS:

How has China's economy developed within the context of COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control? What problems have been encountered? How have issues regarding employment and inflation been dealt with? Thank you.

Xu Lin:

Mr. Ning, please continue to take the questions.

Ning Jizhe:

A very practical question. The COVID-19 epidemic has taken a heavy toll on the world, including China. We all see that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, we have put people's lives first. The CPC Central Committee has overseen the general situation throughout and provided centralized and unified leadership. The Central Committee made arrangements and set tasks to fight the epidemic, promote development, and ensure stability on the six fronts (employment, finance, foreign trade, foreign investment, domestic investment, and market expectations), and security in the six areas (employment, people's livelihood, operations of market entities, food and energy, stable industrial and supply chains, and the normal functioning of primary-level governments), leading the entire Party and the whole nation to achieve major strategic results in coordinating the epidemic prevention and control alongside economic and social development. We have not only taken the lead in bringing the epidemic under control but were also the first to restore positive economic growth. China's economic development amid epidemic prevention and control has six major characteristics:

First, timely control of COVID-19 has created a normal environment for development. Epidemic control strategies and measures were implemented and improved dynamically, and in approximately three months, decisive achievements were made in the battle to defend Wuhan city and Hubei province. Later, successive battles were won against several clusters of infections in some local areas. Vigorous measures have been taken to prevent inbound cases and domestic resurgences, and normal economic and social order has been restored throughout the country, making development possible.

Second, rapid organization of reopening has promoted steady industrial recovery. In a short period, more than 90 policy measures in eight categories for reopening have been introduced, removing choking points, difficulties, and bottlenecks and maintaining the stable operation of the production and supply chains.

Third, policies of a sizable scale decisively introduced have energized market entities. We have further cut taxes and fees, issued government bonds for COVID-19 control, raised the fiscal deficit ratio, increased special local government bonds, and slashed outlays on non-urgent and non-obligatory items. We have adopted measures for required reserve ratio reductions and interest rate cuts, re-lending, delayed payment, inclusive financing, bank interest concessions, and applied transfer mechanisms to ensure funds go straight to primary levels. Our policies regarding the macroeconomy and helping enterprises overcome difficulties are strong and effective, promoting the survival and growth of nearly one hundred million market entities.

Fourth, overall economic and social development has been stabilized thanks to the prioritization of steady employment and ensuring living standards. We have put steady employment and ensuring living standards first when formulating policies, actively responded to the impact of the epidemic and floods on people's livelihoods, redoubled efforts to strengthen agricultural production, vigorously promoted poverty alleviation, and continued to improve public services. By doing so, we have ensured the basic life of 1.4 billion people, and stabilized the fundamentals of the economy and the overall social development.

Fifth, the constant development of new growth drivers has promoted a trend-bucking surge of new business forms and models. In dealing with the epidemic, entrepreneurship and innovation have continued to provide results, and new forms of business, notably the internet economy, have played an important role in growth. Both the supply and demand of online shopping, express delivery, remote working, online education, and telemedicine have flourished, and new infrastructure and consumption in new areas have progressed rapidly.

Sixth, the resolute deepening of reform and opening-up has mobilized production factors both at home and abroad. We have constantly accelerated reforms to streamline administration and delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services, improved the business environment, widened market access, and advanced opening-up, ensuring stability in expectations, domestic investment, foreign trade, and foreign investment. In the first three quarters of this year, China's fixed-asset investment grew by 0.8% year on year, total imports and exports were up by 0.7% on a year-on-year basis, and utilized foreign investment registered a year-on-year increase of 5.2%, all achieving positive growth. Foreign capital entering the Chinese market has continued to increase.

Faced with the impact of the epidemic, we of course encountered problems  regarding the employment of migrant workers and rising food prices. By adopting measures to fight against the epidemic, promote development, and advance reform and opening-up, these problems have been effectively alleviated. In the first three quarters of this year, the annual goal of creating new urban jobs has been basically accomplished, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate dropping from 6.2% at the beginning of this year to 5.4% in September. Meanwhile, the consumer price index (CPI) registered an average increase of 3.3%, down to 1.7% in September. The work to ensure the stability of supplies and prices of pork and other foodstuffs has also yielded fruit.

Next, we will not let up on any front regarding our long-term fight against COVID-19 and will pay increased attention to stabilizing policies and expectations as well as ensuring unimpeded flows in the economy. We will also improve cross-cycle design and adjustments to macro regulation; grasp the direction, focus, intensity, and pace of regulation, and combine reasonable growth with job creation and stable prices to promote high-quality economic growth. Thank you.

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