China's pro-growth measures boost economic recovery, confidence

BEIJING -- China on Wednesday released the latest set of data of its economy, which showed greater momentum in the continued improvement and overall recovery of economic performance.

Amid a complex and severe international environment, China saw its economy continue to recover, underlined by an uptick in manufacturing, expanding market demand, improvement in employment and consumer price data, as well as the steadily improving quality of development.

The data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the economy expanded 4.9 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, despite a high comparative base in the corresponding quarter last year. In the first three quarters of 2023, the economy expanded 5.2 percent.

This has laid a solid foundation for realizing the annual goal of 5-percent growth for 2023.

These achievements have demonstrated the effectiveness of the government's pro-growth measures, which have translated into improvements in multiple macroeconomic indicators, with the month of September having sustained a much more visible recovery momentum.

Following a top-level meeting on economy held on July 24, China tapped into its fiscal, monetary, and taxation policy toolbox by implementing a raft of pro-growth measures targeting small businesses, the private economy, consumption, government investment, as well as the real estate market, among others.

Guided by a proactive fiscal policy, all investments falling under central government budgets had basically been delivered, while 80 percent of the special-purpose local government bonds for 2023 had already been issued as of the end of August.

In order to consolidate the foundation for economic recovery and keep liquidity reasonably ample, the central bank cut the reserve requirement ratio for lenders by 0.25 percentage points for the second time this year in September. Together with the earlier reduction in March, the central bank is estimated to have released over a trillion yuan ($139.29 billion) in medium- and long-term liquidity through these two cuts.

China also decided in August to extend several favorable measures, including lending support and tax reduction for micro and small firms to boost their growth. In addition, the housing ministry encouraged the easing of restrictions for first-home buyers, suggesting they should enjoy lower mortgage lending rates and downpayment ratios. Major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou had implemented this government proposal by early September.

Wednesday's data has showcased the resilience, potential and vitality of the Chinese economy, and proved that the macro-economic policies were both impactful and effective.

Another sign of the Chinese economy picking up speed very recently is the nation's increased electricity consumption, with power usage in September surging 9.9 percent from a year earlier to 781.1 billion kilowatt-hours. This marked a sharp increase compared to the average 5.6 percent growth recorded in the first three quarters.

In September, the nation's vehicle output and sales broke monthly records by hitting 2.85 million and 2.86 million units, respectively, both growing 10.7 percent from the previous month, amid government policies to exempt vehicle purchase tax levied on new energy vehicles as well as sales promotions for buyers in different regions.

Official data showed that Chinese people were spending more on services consumption, with per capita spending on services up 14.2 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2023. Meanwhile, transactions involving residential homes in the nation's 70 major cities grew 2.8 percent in September compared to August. This was the first time such transaction deals recorded growth following five straight months of declines.

China's long-term development prospects are promising, as the country has strengthened counter-cyclical adjustments and introduced a number of highly-targeted policies and measures. As a result, corporate production and operations have improved, and the economic recovery trend has continued.

With confidence in achieving its annual growth target, the Chinese government also maintained a dialectical view of both opportunities and challenges.

China, which is in a critical period of economic recovery and industrial transformation and upgrading, remains steadfast in its pursuit of high-quality economic development in a stable and progressive way.