— World Media Speak Positively of China's Central Economic Work Conference (I)

The Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC), held in Beijing on December 15-16, 2012, charted the course for the future by outlining the overall objectives and major tasks for China's economic development in 2013 based on an analysis of domestic and international economic conditions. International observers closely followed China's economic policy after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). They commented positively on the outcomes of the CEWC, believing China has sent a strong signal that it will persist with reforms.

Real growth

The CEWC, which set the tone for China's economic policy in 2013, lived up to expectations, said Jean-Christophe Defraigne, a researcher on Chinese studies with the Institute for European Studies at Universite Saint-Louis in Brussels, Belgium. Chinese leaders' remarks prior to the conference and the macroeconomic policies adopted at the CEWC conveyed various messages. While reaffirming the consensus on economic reforms, China showed the world its determination to achieve stable growth and pursue real and sustainable growth, Defraigne said.

The outcomes of the CEWC showed that the new CPC central leadership has devised a more clear and forward-looking plan for China's economic development in the next stage, said Babu Khan, an economic advisor with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Major principles established at the conference, such as implementing a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy and steadily advancing urbanization, are enlightening to India, an emerging economy with a slow pace of growth, he said.

Egypt's Ahram newspaper commented that the CEWC, the most important annual event on China's economic front, provides an opportunity for outside observers to ponder the future of China's economic development.

News.com.au quoted an analyst with the Taipei-based Capital Securities Corp. as saying the CEWC delivered a positive signal for the market.

Gulfnews.com said the 2012 CEWC addressed highly relevant issues such as China's economic growth targets, fiscal deficit reduction, tax policies and urban planning, adding that discussions at the conference provided guidelines for China's ongoing economic transition.

A researcher with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said the CEWC called for adhering to the principle of "seeking progress while maintaining stability" in economic work with a focus on the quality of growth, a prudent approach to growth that is correct and reasonable. The researcher added that keywords such as "urbanization" and "industrial restructuring" present new areas of growth that will impact China's economic future.

Domestic demand

The CEWC signaled that China will firmly stick to the strategy of expanding domestic demand, foster areas of consumption that can greatly boost economic growth and strengthen the role of consumption as the foundation of economic growth.

The CEWC conveyed the important message that China will continue to deepen reforms, speed up economic restructuring, change its economic development pattern and promote the expansion of domestic demand, said Ivan Manez, a scholar of Chinese studies and Director of Spain's Global Asia Magazine. He said efforts to boost domestic demand will help make China's economic structure more balanced and lessen the country's excessive dependence on exports and investment for economic growth. Other countries are glad to see an expansion of China's domestic market, which will present more opportunities for foreign exporters and investors and help them share benefits from China's development, he added.

Many policies were put forward at the 2012 CEWC in keeping with agreements at the 18th CPC National Congress, said Yakov Berger, a senior research fellow with the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The buzzword of the conference was "seeking progress while maintaining stability," with the promotion of domestic demand as one of the most important goals. While specifying China's economic tasks in 2013, the conference squarely addressed problems in China's economic development with the adoption of a series of measures and reform plans, which will guide China's long-term development, Berger added.

Measures to adjust China's economic structure and increase domestic demand taken at the CEWC are of great importance to China's stable and sound economic development and conducive to driving the recovery and growth of the global economy, said Martinez Cortes Jose Ignacio, a professor of international relations with Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.

Australian newspapers The Daily Telegraph, The Australian and The West Australian took a keen interest in the decision made at the CEWC to expand domestic demand in their December 17, 2012 editions.

Rural development

The CEWC stressed the government should step up efforts to ensure people's well-being and improve their living standards.

Despite China's impressive economic growth, the country is still troubled with poverty and a wide income gap, said a researcher with the Center for Economic Research at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences. In this context, inclusive growth has become a focal issue in China's economic development. The CEWC gave prominence to people's well-being, an indication of the government's resolve to reduce risks in residents' lives and narrow the wealth divide, the researcher said.

Manez said he was pleased that the development of rural areas continued to be put at the top of the agenda of the 2012 CEWC, which pledged unswerving efforts to cope with problems concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers. He noted that evident development gaps exist between urban and rural areas and between coastal and inland areas in China. The Chinese Government has taken many steps to promote rural development such as abolishing the agricultural tax and allowing farmers to transfer land use rights. In the future, China should implement more policies to support and promote development in rural areas in a bid to make its agricultural sector more developed and bring greater affluence to farmers, he said.

Large-scale tax cuts, especially tax cuts for members of China's lower class, were decided following careful deliberations, said Koffi Kouakou, a senior lecturer with the Graduate School of Public and Development Management of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. The priorities defined at the CEWC are quite sensible and global economic circumstances demand such appropriate and prudent policies, he said.

Urban expansion

The CEWC called for active and prudent efforts to promote urbanization while focusing on improving the quality of urbanization.

In Kouakou's view, urbanization not only can help unleash China's economic development potential, but also is conducive to managing and resolving the widening income gap between the country's urban and rural areas.

Hongbin Qu, multinational banking company HSBC's Chief Economist for China, believes the decision to advance urbanization was one of the highlights of the CEWC. Urbanization can help increase productivity by transferring rural labor from inefficient household-based agricultural production to industrial and service sectors in urban areas, he added.

An economic researcher with the Tunisian Institute for Strategic Studies said given the fact that urban-rural disparities are obvious in China, urbanization is crucial for the country to achieve sound economic development. While helping improve the quality of residents' lives and their sense of happiness, urbanization can promote cultural and ethical progress by changing people's lifestyles, which the researcher believes is the greatest benefit economic growth delivers to people and a driving force that motivates them to take a more active part in investment, production and trade activities.

Urbanization goals set at the CEWC are highly significant, said Suan Teck Kin, an economic analyst with Singapore's United Overseas Bank. Investment in infrastructure construction in the urbanization process can effectively spur domestic demand while helping ameliorate residents' living environment and bridge gaps between urban and rural areas and between the rich and the poor, he said.

In a report published on December 17, 2012, British newspaper Financial Times said the CEWC was the first important conference held by CPC's new leaders to make economic decisions. At the conference, which was attended by all China's senior officials, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, put forth general targets and major tasks for China's economic development in 2013, including promoting integrated development of urban and rural areas and expanding domestic demand.