The principal leaders of five major economic departments responded to pressing questions about China's economy during a press conference held on the afternoon of March 6. The event took place at the Beijing Media Center as part of the ongoing National People's Congress session.
Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, the People's Bank of China, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission engaged with domestic and international journalists for two and a half hours, detailing policy directions and addressing economic concerns.
Regarding this year's growth target of 4.5% to 5%, the head of the National Development and Reform Commission expressed strong confidence, citing China's substantial economic scale, innovative capacity, and institutional advantages as foundations to withstand risks and achieve set objectives. The commission outlined four key areas for enhanced efforts: improving macroeconomic regulation, strengthening the domestic market, advancing modern industrial systems, and resolving economic bottlenecks.
The newly introduced draft outline for the 15th Five-Year Plan features 109 major projects across sectors including new productive forces, modern infrastructure, urban-rural integration, social welfare, green transition, and security. The plan anticipates several high-growth industries emerging, with smart robotics and other emerging sectors projected to exceed 10 trillion yuan in output value by 2030. Social initiatives will focus on elderly and youth care, alongside enhancements in healthcare, education, and employment services.
The Ministry of Finance emphasized the continuation of proactive fiscal policy, marked by record-high expenditures exceeding 30 trillion yuan, new government bond issuances of 11.89 trillion yuan, and central government transfers to localities reaching 10.42 trillion yuan. Policy coordination will be strengthened across fiscal and monetary measures, innovation support, and expenditure optimization. Nearly 1.3 trillion yuan is allocated for science and technology, with over 12.4 trillion yuan dedicated to education, social security, employment, health, and housing.
The Ministry of Commerce highlighted efforts to boost consumption and stabilize foreign trade. Initiatives include promoting green and smart product upgrades, supporting physical retail, and piloting new consumption models. Despite global challenges, trade diversification has enhanced resilience, with commerce officials focusing on goods trade, services trade, and digital trade to maintain stability. Measures will also facilitate imports and exports, support overseas exhibitions, and tap into cultural and service export potentials.
The People's Bank of China confirmed the maintenance of appropriately accommodative monetary policy, utilizing tools such as reserve requirement ratio cuts and interest rate adjustments to ensure ample liquidity. Priorities include supporting domestic demand, technological innovation, and small businesses, while guiding credit structure optimization. The central bank also addressed exchange rate stability, noting that yuan fluctuations reflect economic fundamentals rather than competitive devaluation strategies. Risk mitigation efforts have significantly reduced local government debt and high-risk financial institutions.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission outlined steps to enhance capital market support for industrial innovation, including reforms to the Growth Enterprise Market and refinancing mechanisms. Five key areas for 2025 include risk prevention, fraud crackdowns, institutional compliance, oversight of new businesses, and investor protection. With A-share market capitalization exceeding 110 trillion yuan and listed companies contributing significantly to national output, future measures will focus on market stability mechanisms, corporate governance improvements, and cross-border investment facilitation to attract global capital.