Bloomberg News:

How does the NDRC view the evolution of China's potential GDP growth rate and growth drivers from the past five years to the next five years? In terms of boosting domestic demand, will there be a set target for consumption growth to guide related work over the next five years? Thank you.

Zheng Shanjie:

We'll have Mr. Yuan answer these questions.

Yuan Da:

Thank you for your questions. You are primarily concerned about China's economic growth drivers and expansion of domestic demand, so let me provide a brief introduction. There are two key points. China has a enormous domestic market with great growth potential, and domestic demand has always been a major driver and anchor for steady economic growth. The practice of economic and social development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period has once again fully demonstrated this point.

From the perspective of domestic demand, China has experienced multiple difficulties and shocks over the past four years, including dramatic changes in the international environment, but the national economy has maintained an annual growth rate of 5.5%, with domestic demand's contribution to economic growth reaching 86.4% on average. It can be said that without a strong domestic market, the Chinese economy would not have seen steady growth.

In terms of the composition of domestic demand, three characteristics are particularly prominent.

First, consumption has moved toward new trends. In the past four years, on average, the contribution of final consumption to China's economic growth reached 56.2%, 8.6 percentage points higher than that of the 13th Five-Year Plan period. New products, new business forms, and new models in the consumption field continue to emerge. For example, in commodity consumption, the integration of AI into daily production and life has accelerated. Smartphones, smart home appliances and smart cars are highly popular among consumers. New products such as 360-degree panoramic sports cameras and AI smart glasses are gaining popularity online. Traditional Chinese style and China-chic products have performed well, with sales of Hanfu (a type of traditional Chinese clothing) and cultural and creative products growing exponentially. Similarly, service consumption in culture, sports, tourism and health care shows increasingly diverse supply and demand patterns. Popular products and experiences based on intangible cultural heritage and museum intellectual property frequently emerge, while city walks and Chinese tea drinks have become fashionable trends.

Second, investment has been directed toward high-quality development priorities. Over the past four years, capital formation from investment contributed an average of 30.2% to China's economic growth. Investment has fully utilized its key role in optimizing the supply structure by focusing more on addressing weaknesses and ensuring long-term benefits. For example, we have concentrated on major and difficult tasks in building a strong country and advancing national rejuvenation, working to solve prominent problems affecting the construction of Chinese modernization. We have coordinated "hard investments" and "soft construction" from top to bottom to advance high-quality projects that implement major national strategies and build security capacity in key areas. We have also emphasized enhancing sustained growth. For example, high-tech industry investment growth has surpassed overall investment growth for many years, and a batch of major national scientific research infrastructure projects have been completed. We have also prioritized people's well-being. For example, we have started and secured construction of about 7.8 million units of various types of affordable housing over the past four years, effectively solving housing problems for more than 20 million people. Investment in areas related to people's well-being has maintained rapid growth, and basic public services has been continuously improved. We have also paid more attention to mobilizing private capital. For example, we have launched major projects in nuclear power and railways to attract private capital investment, with private capital holding a 20% shareholding ratio in some nuclear power projects.

Third, investment and consumption have reinforced each other. On the one hand, growing consumer demand has driven investment in product production and supporting infrastructure. For example, strong consumer demand for 5G and smartphones has driven significant investment growth over the past four years: 21.9% annually in the internet and related services industry, and 11.2% annually in communication equipment manufacturing. On the other hand, effective investment has boosted employment and income growth through production chains, which enhances residents' purchasing power. It has also improved consumption conditions by upgrading facilities and optimizing environments, directly stimulating consumer spending. For example, by the end of 2024, the nationwide charging infrastructure had grown to 12.818 million units, effectively supporting the large-scale adoption of new energy vehicles.

Next, we will accelerate the construction of a new development pattern by prioritizing domestic economy, steadfastly implementing the strategy to expand domestic demand, cultivating a complete domestic demand system, and continuously stimulating domestic demand potential. Thank you.