Beijing, 6 March 2024 (TDI): China is committed to high-quality development as it targets a GDP growth rate of around 5 percent for 2024, signaling resilience and determination amidst domestic and global uncertainties.
This ambitious target, unveiled during the annual session of the national legislature, underscores the nation’s steadfast pursuit of progress.
Premier Li Qiang outlined this goal in the government work report, emphasizing the need to bolster employment, incomes, and risk mitigation strategies.
In 2024, China aims to create over 12 million jobs in urban areas, and keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate at about 5.5 percent, said the report.
The country also plans to spend 1.66554 trillion yuan (around 234.5 billion US dollars) on defense, up 7.2 percent and sets an inflation target of about 3 percent.
The GDP growth target of around 5 percent for this year was set after the Chinese economy showed solidity and resilience in 2023 by recording year-on-year growth of 5.2 percent.
“In setting the growth rate at around 5 percent, we have taken into account the need to boost employment and incomes and prevent and defuse risks,” Li stated.
Policy Tools
The projected growth rate aligns seamlessly with the objectives outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan, aiming at modernization and sustainable progress. It reflects a pragmatic approach, emphasizing both achievable goals and aspirational growth.
Experts such as Han Baojiang and Tian Xuan lauded this objective as grounded yet forward-looking, emphasizing the government’s commitment to quality-driven growth and the judicious use of policy tools to navigate challenges.
Acknowledging the hurdles ahead, Premier Li stressed the importance of maintaining policy focus and concerted efforts across all sectors.
The government plans to sustain a proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy in 2024, deploying targeted measures to stimulate growth, such as special-purpose bonds and investments in key sectors.
Efforts to bolster consumption and effective investment underscore China’s commitment to driving high-quality development.
Initiatives to promote digital, environmental friendly, and health-related consumption demonstrate a forward-looking approach to economic revitalization.
Furthermore, plans to modernize the industrial system and attract foreign investment reflect China’s openness to innovation and collaboration on a global scale.
Growth Drivers
To bolster the nation’s trajectory toward high-quality development, the report delineates significant pro-growth measures aimed at propelling the economy forward.
China is set to initiate a year-long initiative aimed at invigorating consumer spending, alongside introducing policies to foster digital, eco-friendly, and health-conscious consumption, as stated in the report.
Moreover, the report discloses plans for China to augment effective investment, with 700 billion yuan slated in the central government budget for investment this year.
Also Read: Premier Li Qiang unveils China’s future innovation plans
Outlined within the report are a series of initiatives aimed at modernizing the industrial framework and advancing new, high-caliber productive forces at an accelerated pace.
These initiatives encompass enhancements and upgrades to industrial and supply chains, as well as the nurturing of emerging sectors and industries such as hydrogen power, novel materials, biomanufacturing, commercial space travel, quantum technology, and life sciences.
As Jiang Ying, Deloitte China chair and a national political advisor, aptly noted, “The Chinese economy offers plentiful opportunities, creating development space for all kinds of market players.”
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