Deepen Reforms to Tap Development Potential

The annual National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) are commonly known as the “two sessions.” Held every March, they provide a window for the world to learn more about the country. The new development trends apparent in this year’s sessions are crucial to China’s future progress. The 13th Five-Year Plan is expected to guide the development of all industries and sectors, and the new reform initiatives put forward in the government work report presage the direction of China’s advance.

First of all, China is committed to building a law-based, innovative, clean and service-oriented government that meets the needs of its people. The country undertakes to constrain government intervention and so enlarge the role of the market, and take targeted measures that perfect the level of government service.

The government calls for fault tolerance and error correction mechanisms. It will encourage officials to be innovative and creative and so motivate their zeal in carrying out reforms while paying diligent attention to risk-prevention.

The launch of the new “Internet Plus government services” platform model will make for smarter, more efficient government work. Owing to a delayed market reaction, past government regulations failed to make impact. Recently proposed “well-timed regulation” is expected to preset and fine-tune the country’s economy in a more flexible way, especially as regards the issue of currency and bonds, and levying taxes.

New technologies, industries, and forms of business, and a sharing economy are becoming foremost engines of economic growth. Among them, new energy automobiles, ecological industry, big data, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence are emerging and expanding to become new growth points of China’s economy.

Meanwhile, new technologies permeate traditional industries. China will build national Internet-based innovative manufacturing platforms whereby to conduct a slew of intelligent manufacturing programs, and launch projects to consolidate industry development, promote green manufacturing, and develop high-end equipment. Such measures will enhance the quality of production processes and products and promote domestic manufacturers’ global market know-how.

The country will moreover resolve industrial overcapacity and the problem of so-called “zombie enterprises” in the coal and steel sectors. Improved fiscal, financial, and other policies will support this work and so avoid losses of state assets, as well as achieve rational re-em- ployment of laid-off workers and the efficient restructuring of assets.

The spirit of craftsmanship was another highlight of this year’s government work report, which called on enterprises to focus on sectors best suited to their expertise and to constantly strive for perfection. Senior workers equipped with unique skills are a driving force towards flexible, tailor-made domestic manufacturing processes that will pave the way towards supply-side structural reform.

Economic development aims to achieve better livelihoods. Contemporary life imbues improvements in all respects. For instance, travel is now affordable to increasingly more people as China ushers in a “new era of mass tourism.” Fiber-optic networks are also accessible to expanding numbers of households, and Internet speed becomes ever faster. The government work report specified development of fiber-optic networks in a number of cities as a main task this year.

Last but not least, in the new round of qualitative opening-up, China will continue to promote the Belt and Road Initiative, achieve greater industrial capacity cooperation with other countries, exercise innovation in its promotion of foreign trade, make better use of overseas investment, and speed up implementation of the free trade zone strategy. In 2016, China will expand pilot cross-border e-commerce and support enterprises in their building of overseas warehouses in which to store export products. Bulk shipments of Chinese export products to overseas warehouses can then be sold and delivered directly to destinations in those countries. Encouraged by the “Internet plus logistics” action plan launched last May by China’s Ministry of Commerce, a good number of e-commerce portals and export enterprises have indeed started to apply their overseas logistics systems on this principle.

This is the first year in the decisive stage of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. It is also a crucial year for carrying out structural reform. The projected growth rate in 2016 is between 6.5 and seven percent. Thanks to years of rapid development, China has laid a solid material foundation, apparent in a resilient economy with enormous potential and ample room for growth. Meanwhile, reform and opening-up has added fresh impetus to economic growth, and a wealth of experience has been gained in developing new modes of macro regulation. In addition, we have the guidance of the Communist Party of China and its rich national governance experience. With sustained efforts we shall fulfill this year’s economic and social development tasks and targets, and make a good start on the decisive stage of finishing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.