Great Expectations
The national economic policy remains committed to development and opening up in 2019
One day after the celebration of the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up, the Central Economic Work Conference, China’s annual meeting to set the agenda for the economic development, was convened on December 19-21, 2018. It reviewed the economic performance in 2018 and outlined major tasks for 2019. The conference focused on ensuring stable growth and further reform and opening up.
A statement issued after the conference said economic growth remained steady despite increasing downward pressure and mounting uncertainties, both at home and abroad, in 2018. In 2019, China will see a more open market with a favorable business environment, more innovation-oriented manufacturing, stronger domestic demands and higher living standards, it added. Moreover, 2019 is a crucial year for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020.
“As the statement suggests, China will combine macro, structural and social policies and continue making efforts to ensure steady operation of the economy and financial system to serve the 2020 goal,” Xu Hongcai, Deputy Chief Economist with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, told Chinafrica.
As the domestic market grows, consumption has become a key pillar of China’s economic growth. In 1978, final consumer expenditure contributed only 38.3 percent to economic growth. But in 2017, the figure rose to 58.8 percent and to 78 percent in the first three quarters of 2018.
According to the conference, domestic demand needs to be boosted by developing the service industry and increasing household disposable income. As part of the government’s income-boosting efforts, special individual income tax deductions for expenditures including children’s education, health treatment for serious diseases, housing loan interests, rent and elderly care took effect on January 1, 2019, following an increase in the threshold of personal tax payment from 3,500 yuan ($513) to 5,000 yuan ($725) per month in October 2018.
To meet people’s new demands, industries need to embrace hi-tech innovation such as artificial intelligence, industrial Internet and the Internet of Things, to edge toward the high end of the manufacturing chain. As the digital revolution emerges around the globe, China is ready to tap more possibilities created by technologies such as 5G. According to a plan issued in August 2018, the commercial use of 5G technologies in China will take off in 2020 as the country moves faster to deploy the new-generation wireless networks.
In 2018, the Shanghai Stock Exchange launched a science and technology