Annual Conference on China’s Economy 2022-2023 Is Held in Beijing

On December 17, 2022, the Annual Conference on China's Economy 2022-2023, organized by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges(CCIEE), was held in Beijing both on-site and virtually with the theme of "studying and implementing the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference, and driving the overall improvement of China's economic performance". Focusing on the theme, participants had in-depth discussions around "delving into and implementing the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference to facilitate the effective improvement of quality and reasonable growth of the economy", "striving to expand domestic demand and give full play to the fundamental role of consumption and the key role of investment", "pursuing a proactive fiscal policy to improve the overall health of the economy", "pursuing a prudent monetary policy to prevent and resolve major economic and financial risks", "promoting high-level opening-up and making greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign capital", and "building a modern industry system and raising the resilience and security of industry and supply chains". Xiaoqiang Zhang, Executive Vice Chairman and Director of the Executive Board of CCIEE, presided over the Conference. Yiming Wang, Vice Chairman of CCIEE, attended the Conference and delivered a speech. More than 200 people attended the Conference, including leaders of relevant departments of the Party Central Committee and State Council, experts and scholars, entrepreneurs and representatives of think tanks.

The participants said that 2022 marks an extremely crucial year in the history of the Party and the country. We triumphantly held the 20th National Congress of Chinese Communist Party, drawing up a grand blueprint for building China into a modern socialist country in all respects. To do a good job in next year's economic work, we should be guided by President Xi's thought of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. We should fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress, solidly promote Chinese-style modernization, adhere to the general keynote of seeking progress in a stable manner, fulfill the new development concept in a complete, accurate and comprehensive way, accelerate the formation of a new development paradigm, and focus on stimulating high-quality development. We should better coordinate pandemic prevention and control with economic and social development, and better coordinate development with security. We should deepen reform and opening-up across the board, vigorously boost market confidence, deploy the strategy of expanding domestic demand while enhancing supply-side structural reform at the same time. We should strive for stable growth, stable employment and stable consumer prices, effectively prevent and resolve major risks, and drive the overall improvement in economic performance. We should take the economy to the next level in terms of both quality and size so as to get our endeavor of building China into a modern socialist country in all respects off to a good start.

The participants pointed out that next year's economic work should prioritize stability while pursuing progress. We should pursue a proactive fiscal policy with greater intensity and enhance its performance. Our prudent monetary policy should be precise and effective and our policies for different industries and sectors should support both development and security. Our policy for technological advancement should zoom in on self-reliance and self-improvement, and our social policy should assure people's livelihood .

The Conference emphasized that next year's economic work will be complicated so it is necessary to proceed with the overall strategy in mind. We should start with improving people's expectations, boost our confidence in development, fix our eyes on our priority and do a good job. We should focus on expanding domestic demand, speed up the development of a modern industry system, implement the "Two Unwaverings", attract and utilize foreign capital with greater efforts, strengthen the Party Central Committee's centralized and unified leadership over financial work, effectively prevent and resolve major economic and financial risks as well as local government debt risks, and resolutely curb any new debts and resolve existing debts.

At the Conference, leaders and experts from the Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, the Economic Affairs Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the Ministry of Finance, the People's Bank of China, the Development Research Center of the State Council and other agencies shared their views and interpretations of the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference.