China signals policy push to stabilize, revive investment

BEIJING — China has sent clear signals to stabilize and revive investment through strengthened policy support, including appropriately increasing the scale of central budget investment and continuing to leverage new policy-based financial instruments, economists said.

The tone was set at the annual Central Economic Work Conference held from Dec 10 to 11, which emphasized the need to halt the decline in investment, promote recovery and effectively stimulate private investment vitality, amid a complex external environment and declining investment returns.

China's fixed-asset investment fell 2.6 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months, said the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

To bolster investment, the conference also highlighted measures such as optimizing the implementation of major national projects and the management of local government special bond usage.

"These steps will amplify the leveraging effect of government investment, further stimulate private investment and unlock domestic demand potential," said Jin Li, vice-president of the Southern University of Science and Technology.

Over the past year, China has rolled out a series of targeted policies, including an 800-billion-yuan ($113 billion) list of key projects to implement major national strategies and enhance security capacity in key areas, and 500 billion yuan in new policy-based financial tools to supplement project capital. These efforts aim to reinforce the role of government investment in driving social investment.

Looking ahead, stabilizing investment will require stronger policy guarantees, deepening reform of investment and financing mechanisms and more effective measures to boost private investors' confidence.

Jin stressed the importance of clarifying investment priorities at both central and local levels, proposing high-quality projects that align with development needs, local capacities and public expectations.

Despite the decline in investment, China's investment structure has improved, with rapid growth in high-tech sectors, indicating vast potential and space for future investment, economists noted.

Zhang Linshan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research, suggested enhancing support for eligible private projects through central budget investment and new policy financial tools.

Zhang emphasized the need to guide more private capital into major infrastructure and social livelihood projects while breaking down market barriers and improving the business environment.

As China advances reforms to build a unified national market and reduce institutional costs, these efforts are expected to foster an efficient and healthy interactive mechanism for private investment, Zhang added.

At a work conference held from Dec 12 to 13, the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic regulator, further underscored the need to adopt multiple measures to halt the decline of investment and stabilize its growth.

The work conference called for giving full play to various government investment funds, including the construction of key projects and newly added local government special bonds, appropriately increasing the scale of central budget investment, and continuing to leverage new policy-based financial instruments to improve investment efficiency continuously.

Major projects should be planned and implemented to pave the way for a solid start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), said the NDRC, adding that investment rules should be further clarified, preparatory work should be carried out more robustly and investment project scheduling should be strengthened.

Efforts to promote the development of private investment will be deepened to stimulate its vitality effectively, the commission added.

Xinhua