China's long-term development outlook unchanged amid pro-growth measures

BEIJING - The positive development trend of China's economy will remain unchanged in the long term, and a series of measures to bolster growth are in the pipeline.

Commenting on declines in some monthly economic indicators, including the purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector and industrial profits, Meng Wei, spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission, said Friday the fluctuations are normal and temporary.

With supporting policies paying off, market demand has been gradually recovering, and the supply structure is improving, which can inject impetus into China's economic development, said Meng.

Retail sales, a gauge of China's consumption growth, increased 9.3 percent year-on-year to 18.76 trillion yuan ($2.63 trillion), and service-related consumption grew rapidly.

From January to May, the growth rate of the box office revenue across China topped 40 percent year-on-year, while that in the catering sector registered 22.6 percent.

China's fixed-asset investment totaled 18.88 trillion yuan in the period, up 4 percent year-on-year, and investment in high-tech industries increased by 12.8 percent year-on-year amid the country's efforts to promote industrial transformation and upgrading.

Meng said that the upward trend of major economic indicators is expected to maintain in the long term but cautioned that market demand is still insufficient and the endogenous power of the economy still needs to be enhanced.

In the face of such pressures and challenges, the country will take measures to add vitality to the economy in the next stage.

Meng said China would roll out policies to recover and expand consumption timeously, continuously improving the consumption environment and unleashing potential in service consumption.

To stimulate auto consumption, the country will expedite building battery charging facilities and transformation of power grids in cities, and promote new energy vehicles in rural areas, she said.

Efforts will also be made to increase the income of urban and rural residents, said Meng, pledging that the country will stabilize employment, give more support to rural industries, broaden channels for farmers to get rich, continue to implement existing tax and fee cut policies, and improve the multi-tiered social security system.

To stimulate growth, the People's Bank of China reduced the one-year interest rate of its medium-term lending facility on Thursday, following two similar policy rate cuts earlier this week, in the seven-day reverse repo rate and the standing lending facility rate. Such moves sent a clear signal that the authorities will strengthen counter-cyclical adjustment and shore up market expectations.

On the fiscal front, the central government has pledged to provide transfer payments of 10.06 trillion yuan this year, the highest level in recent years, to help local authorities deal with financial droughts caused by factors including massive tax and fee cuts.

China aims to expand its economy by around 5 percent in 2023, said this year's government work report, also stating that the country would increase domestic demand in 2023, prioritizing the recovery and expansion of consumption.