Promoting an overall improvement in economic performance and achieving both qualitative enhancement and reasonable quantitative growth—Insights into the New Direction of China’s Economic Work in 2023 from the Central Politburo Meeting

Xinhua News Agency “Xinhua Viewpoint” reporter

　　The year 2023 marks the inaugural year for fully implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, making sound economic management of paramount importance. On December 6, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, where the economic outlook for 2023 was analyzed and deliberated. The meeting reaffirmed the overarching principle of “seeking progress while maintaining stability” and emphasized the need to “promote an overall improvement in economic performance, achieve both effective quality enhancement and reasonable quantitative growth, and ensure a strong start to the endeavor of building a modern socialist country in all respects.”

　　Better coordinate epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development; better balance development and security.

　　The meeting of the CPC Central Politburo pointed out that, to ensure sound economic performance next year, we must be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, steadily advance Chinese modernization, adhere to the overarching principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, comprehensively, accurately, and thoroughly apply the new development philosophy, accelerate the establishment of a new development pattern, vigorously promote high-quality development, better coordinate epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development, and better balance development and security.

　　“This important meeting has reviewed and laid out plans for economic work in the inaugural year of fully implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which is of great significance for stabilizing development expectations, boosting market confidence, and unleashing the vitality of the entire society to pursue progress and entrepreneurship,” said Dong Yu, Executive Deputy Dean of the China Development Planning Institute at Tsinghua University.

　　On the 7th, the Comprehensive Group of the State Council Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism issued the “Notice on Further Optimizing and Implementing COVID‑19 Prevention and Control Measures,” outlining ten optimized measures, including scientifically and precisely delineating risk areas, further narrowing the scope and frequency of nucleic acid testing, and generally adopting home isolation for asymptomatic infections and mild cases that meet the conditions for such isolation.

　　Dong Yu stated that the current task of ensuring stable growth is of paramount importance. The meeting of the CPC Central Politburo underscored the need to prioritize stabilizing growth, employment, and prices. Effectively implementing the spirit of this meeting and better coordinating epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development will help further unleash economic and social vitality; meanwhile, better balancing development and security and effectively preventing and defusing major risks will create more favorable conditions for high-quality development, thereby achieving both a substantive improvement in the quality of China’s economy and reasonable quantitative growth.

　　Strengthen coordination and synergy among various policies to forge a concerted effort in advancing high-quality development.

　　The meeting of the CPC Central Politburo stated that, next year, priority must be given to stability while seeking progress within that stability; the proactive fiscal policy and the prudent monetary policy should continue to be implemented; coordination and synergy among various policies should be strengthened; epidemic prevention and control measures should be optimized; and concerted efforts should be marshaled to jointly promote high-quality development.

　　Since the beginning of this year, China has earnestly implemented the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of last year, promptly and decisively introducing a comprehensive package of policies and follow-up measures to stabilize the economy. These efforts have focused on safeguarding market entities, ensuring employment stability, and keeping prices steady, thereby providing strong support for maintaining overall economic stability.

　　Yang Zhiyong, deputy director of the Institute of Financial Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stated that China’s economy will continue to face challenges next year. The meeting’s emphasis on strengthening coordination and synergy among various policies will help sustain policy力度 and intensity, focus on key areas for sustained efforts, and ensure stable economic development and reasonable growth in the coming year.

　　The meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee emphasized that proactive fiscal policy should be strengthened and made more effective, prudent monetary policy should be precise and forceful, industrial policy should balance development with security, science and technology policy should focus on self-reliance and self-strengthening, and social policy should firmly safeguard the basic living standards of the people.

　　“By effectively implementing the spirit of this meeting, further refining the priorities and delivery mechanisms of various policies, and harnessing synergistic effects, we can help stabilize market expectations and bolster market confidence,” said Liu Shangxi, President of the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences.

　　Comprehensively deepen reform and opening-up, and vigorously boost market confidence.

　　The meeting of the CPC Central Politburo stated, “We will comprehensively deepen reform and opening up and vigorously boost market confidence”; it is imperative to earnestly implement the principle of “two unwavering commitments” and strengthen the momentum and vitality of China’s socialist modernization drive.

　　Zeng Gang, Director of the Shanghai Institute of Finance and Development, pointed out that by establishing a high-standard socialist market economy, we can create a favorable development environment for all types of market entities, steadfastly uphold the “two unwavering commitments,” optimize the business environment for private enterprises, further stimulate the vitality of all market players, and stabilize development expectations while bolstering confidence in growth.

　　The meeting also called for advancing high-standard opening-up and attracting and utilizing foreign investment with greater intensity.

　　“With growing uncertainty in the global economic recovery, China’s steadfast commitment to high‑level opening-up demonstrates strategic resolve, robust market potential, and coordinated policy measures, all of which play a crucial role in bolstering market confidence,” said Gu Xueming, President of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce.

　　Since the beginning of this year, China has harnessed its development potential through an open‑door policy, attracting foreign investment that has maintained double-digit growth and demonstrating strong resilience in foreign trade exports, thereby becoming a key driver of stable economic growth.

　　“It is both feasible and imperative to attract and utilize foreign investment on an even larger scale,” said Gu Xueming. He noted that foreign capital possesses unique advantages in connecting domestic and international markets, playing a vital role in accelerating the establishment of a new development paradigm. By further advancing high‑level opening-up, we can foster deeper reforms and drive high‑quality economic growth.

　　We will focus on expanding domestic demand and accelerate the development of a modern industrial system.

　　The meeting of the CPC Central Politburo stated, “We must organically integrate the implementation of the strategy to expand domestic demand with the deepening of supply-side structural reform,” and emphasized, “We must focus on expanding domestic demand and give full play to the fundamental role of consumption and the pivotal role of investment.”

　　Domestic demand, driven by investment and consumption, is the “main engine” of economic growth. “Consumption represents final demand and serves as a fundamental driver of economic development. Expanding effective investment can help boost domestic demand in the short term, while in the long run it enhances the capacity for effective supply, improves supply quality, and thereby leads to and creates new demand, fostering a virtuous cycle between supply and demand and strengthening the endogenous momentum and reliability of the domestic circulation,” said Wang Yun, a researcher at the China Academy of Macroeconomic Research.

　　The meeting of the CPC Central Politburo emphasized the need to accelerate the development of a modern industrial system and enhance the resilience and security of industrial and supply chains.

　　Dong Yu stated that a modern industrial system serves as the material foundation of a modern nation. To implement the spirit of the Politburo meeting, we must accelerate efforts to achieve scientific and technological self-reliance and strength. By launching initiatives to rebuild industrial foundations and tackle key technological equipment challenges, we can effectively address weaknesses, strengthen our competitive advantages, continuously fortify our industrial base, and steadily enhance the resilience and security of China’s industrial and supply chains.

　　Safeguard the basic living standards of the people.

　　Ensuring and improving people’s wellbeing is a key objective of economic and social development. The meeting stressed the need to coordinate efforts to maintain stable supplies and prices of essential consumer goods, secure reliable supplies of coal, electricity, oil, gas, and transportation, attend to the production and living needs of vulnerable groups, ensure timely payment of wages to rural migrant workers, and vigorously strengthen workplace safety as well as disaster prevention and mitigation measures, thereby safeguarding social harmony and stability.

　　“In the face of the pandemic’s impact and downward economic pressures, the meeting of the CPC Central Politburo further underscored the need to safeguard the basic living standards of the people, with meticulous plans laid out around key sectors and weak links, reflecting both the determination and confidence to stabilize growth, employment, and prices, and to make every effort to ensure people’s well-being,” said Wang Jun, a director of the China Chief Economists Forum.

　　One part planning, nine parts implementation. The meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee clearly emphasized strengthening the Party’s overall leadership over economic work, thoroughly studying, grasping, and implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, and improving the mechanisms for ensuring the effective implementation of the CPC Central Committee’s major decisions and deployments. We must remain committed to earnest and pragmatic action, unleash the vitality of the entire society for pursuing development and making progress, and ensure that cadres dare to take initiative, localities dare to pioneer, enterprises dare to act, and the people dare to innovate.

　　“The meeting placed particular emphasis on ‘implementation,’ aiming to mobilize enthusiasm across all sectors and foster the sustained recovery and development of the economy and society through the thorough execution of the CPC Central Committee’s major decisions and arrangements. This sends a strong signal of bolstering market confidence and provides crucial guidance for fully implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,” said Wang Jun. (Reporters An Bei, Shen Cheng, Wang Yuxiao, Ye Haoming, Xie Xiyao, and Liu Hui)