Stability keyword of China's economic development in 2023: report

Stability will be the keyword of China's economic development strategy this year, said Yu Bin and Chen Changsheng from the Development Research Center of the State Council in a latest report released during the Economic Summit of China Development Forum 2023 in Beijing on Saturday.

"We will need to grasp the overall economic climate, improve market expectations; boost investor confidence; and focus on stabilizing growth, employment, and prices," Only in this way can China achieve growth in both quantitative and quality terms, the report noted.

Although China will face continued global uncertainty, high global inflation, and a slowdown in the world economy and trade in 2023, the report said China's economy has shown signs of rebounding as pressure from contraction of demand, supply shocks and weakening expectations eases.

Freight volumes have returned to the 2022 average levels. From Feb 17 to 23, 2023, China's road freight volume totaled 700 million metric tons, which was in the neighborhood of the average level in 2022.

The daily average number of freight trucks traveling on expressways at the beginning of March 2023 was 7.39 million, 6.1 percent more than the daily average number in 2022.

Signs of steady recovery in the logistics industry are also being observed. In February 2022, China's logistics industry prosperity index was 50.1 percent, an increase of 5.4 percentage points from the previous month, returning to the expansion range, following four months of contraction.

Economic activities on the supply side are increasing. Following the Spring Festival holiday, the reopening of factories and construction sites came about a week earlier than in previous years.

On Feb 3, the daily electricity consumption of the secondary sector recovered to 97.1 percent of the daily average level between Jan 2 and 6, an increase of 10 percentage points compared with the same period last year.

In terms of consumption side, in January this year, service revenue recovered to more than 80 percent of the 2019 level. The revenue that restaurants made from dine-in guests in January and the first two weeks of February 2023 increased by 9.4 percent year-on-year.

Tourism spending in the first month of the lunar calendar (Jan 22-Feb 19) increased by 65.8 percent from the same period last year, and domestic travel orders on online platforms during the Spring Festival holiday recovered to the 2019 level.

Revenue of the accommodation industry in the first month of the lunar calendar increased by 44 percent over the same period last year and domestic hotel orders exceeded the same period in 2019.

The report said, the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, the successful convening of the Central Economic Work Conference and the two sessions, and signs of economic recovery have significantly boosted business confidence.

As per the report, major international institutions have lifted their forecasts for China's economic growth in 2023 recently. According to the latest forecast by the International Monetary Fund, China's economy will rebound in the first half of 2023, as opposed to the second half of 2023 as predicted earlier by the IMF. China's economy is clearly on the mend and is expected to drive global economic growth.