The Central Economic Work Conference held in Beijing last week has naturally attracted attention, given the difficult year the Chinese economy has endured.
The meeting vowed that growth, employment and prices will be stabilized and stressed that "the Chinese economy will continue to seek progress while maintaining stability next year" and overall improvement in economic performance will be promoted to achieve "effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth". These statements provide clear guidance for next year's economic work.
The World Bank cut its forecast for global economic growth next year to 1.9 percent from its June forecast of about 3 percent. Against this backdrop, it is crucial that China keep its economy running smoothly. The pandemic has not changed the fact that China is the most promising consumer market in the world, and the conference suggested that priority should be given to reviving and expanding consumption, primarily by expanding domestic demand.
The conference also stressed the importance of developing innovation as a driving force. It urged the country to accelerate its research and development, and the application and promotion of cutting-edge technologies such as new energy, artificial intelligence, biological manufacturing, green and low-carbon technologies and quantum computing.
If properly implemented, the application of technology can also accelerate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries helping to drive the sustainable development of the economy and forge new competitive advantages in the country's pursuit of carbon peaking and neutrality goals.
Opening-up was another clear message from the conference. It stressed the need to promote high-level opening-up, steadily expand institutional opening-up based on rules, regulations, management and standards, and making greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment.
Ranging from raising the quality and level of trade and investment cooperation and increasing openness in the modern service sector to ensuring the national treatment of foreign-funded enterprises and actively promoting accession to high-standard economic and trade agreements, the series of measures highlighted by the conference, if carried out, will provide a broader and more secure space for foreign investment to develop in China.
After suffering from uncertainties and risks for so long, the conference offered some hard-earned predictability to the market with the commitment it has demonstrated to the continuity and consistence of pro-growth and pro-opening-up policies.
Market entities should now have a stronger sense of certainty and confidence that the difficulties of the pandemic will start to recede.
With the optimizing of the epidemic response, an overall improvement is expected in the country's economic performance next year and the country will seek to foster its new development paradigm, make fresh strides in advancing reforms to promote high-quality economic development and pursue a higher-standard open economy.