China signals economic resilience, sees bright outlook after spring festival boom

BEIJING: China is confident of its economic resilience this year and sees a bright outlook after a jump in tourism and consumption during the recent spring festival, said an official.

Liu Jieyi, a spokesperson for the second session of the 14th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) national committee, said CPPCC members are monitoring the economy closely and that it has been a priority in its consultations and deliberations.

The CPPCC is China’s top political advisory body.

“The momentum of long-term growth will further consolidate with a bright future.

“Focusing on China’s modernisation, the committee has conducted consultations and deliberations on the macro economy and important economic issues, making concrete and effective efforts to promote economic developments,” he told a media conference on Sunday.

The press conference was held a day before its annual session from March 4 -10, 2024.

“Over the past few days, many CPPCC members from different parts of China came to Beijing for this session and we shared that the tourism and consumption boom during the spring festival was quite notable,” Liu said. He added that many cities, including Harbin, which is known for its snow resorts, and ancient cities like Kashgar attracted many tourists.

“According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, during the spring festival, 474 million domestic tour trips were made, up by 34.3 per cent while total travellers expenditure reached 632.68 billion yuan, up by 47.3 per cent.

“There was a major increase in both the number of tourists and the money spent, hitting a record high. This shows that people’s demand for a better life entails huge consumption potential and serves as a strong driving force for economic development,” Liu said.

He added that the national committee would focus on the economic growth target for 2024 and invited CPPCC members and experts to analyse economic indicators and understand changes in economic development. In 2023, China’s gross domestic product expanded 5.2 per cent, meeting the government’s target of around 5.0 per cent growth.