Technological innovation is the key to steady economic growth

After growing 5.2% last year and 5.3% year-on-year in the first quarter, China's GDP is expected to continue growing at a relatively high pace in the long term. Endowed with abundant resources and a huge domestic market, the country is well placed to further foster institutional and technological innovation and high levels of openness, thereby injecting new impetus into the economy and making it sustainable. We are embarking on a path of development.

Policy adjustments

In 2012, China began working to optimize its economic structure and improve the quality of growth. The country expects the main driver of GDP growth to shift from increasing investment to promoting technological development. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is also hitting China's economy hard. Fortunately, after years of policy adjustment, China's economic slowdown is coming to an end, and the economy is expected to grow steadily in the coming years.

The country has implemented a series of reforms regarding the price system, property rights, labor market, capital market and commercial real estate sector, with the aim of achieving a relative balance between supply and demand and laying a solid institutional foundation for economic growth. has implemented market-oriented reforms. The industrial structure and market access rules have also been properly adjusted, significantly reducing long-standing challenges in production.

Meanwhile, China has improved income distribution, particularly by addressing household income disparities, narrowed the income gap between urban and rural workers, and further advanced consumption sophistication. Aiming for all-round development, the country has also continuously optimized public services such as education, healthcare, housing, and elderly care.

China remains ahead of the curve when it comes to developing emerging technologies. The country has been a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty for 30 years, and the number of PCT international patent applications has ranked first in the world for four consecutive years since 2019.

With the resolute support of the authorities, enterprises and research institutions have made great achievements in fields such as the Internet, biotechnology and new materials, and related capital markets and industrial chains are gradually being formed in the country.

Furthermore, various monetary and fiscal policies have been enacted to reduce the burden on companies and ensure a favorable business environment. The country is further deepening value-added tax reform in real sectors such as manufacturing, construction, and transportation, as well as implementing a comprehensive tax reduction policy for small and medium-sized enterprises and micro enterprises.

China has also promoted the development of securities markets, including the Science, Technology and Innovation Council, STAR Market. In terms of indirect financing, the country has improved the lending capacity of commercial banks.

promising future

China has set an economic growth target of around 5% for this year. Barring unforeseen circumstances, China's economy is likely to achieve an average annual growth rate of more than 4.8 percent over the next 15 years, with total GDP doubling and per capita GDP and gross national income reaching the level of moderately developed countries. will reach the standard.

Blessed with abundant production factors, China has built the world's most comprehensive and largest industrial system, and has great potential to further increase productivity. Out of more than 500 major industrial products, China ranks first in the world in terms of production of more than 220 products.

China is almost self-sufficient in agricultural products and natural resources. Various human and material resources can be efficiently utilized to deal with economic problems and natural disasters, and ensure sustainable economic development.

It also has an extremely large domestic market, and an appropriate division of labor has been achieved. Not only does it have the second largest population in the world with 1.4 billion people, but it also has the largest middle-income population in the world with 400 million people.

Furthermore, as China further strengthens its comprehensive strength and improves the lives of its people, both domestic demand and total retail sales of consumer goods will continue to increase. Therefore, even if external demand sharply declines, the economy can be protected by promoting domestic circulation.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many industry and market organizations are turning to livestreams to expand into new sales channels, increase productivity, and reduce operating costs. The company is stepping up efforts to develop new business models such as shopping and employee sharing. These new models will greatly contribute to the vitality and vitality of China's performance in the long term.

According to this year's Government Work Report, China will continue to attract more foreign direct investment by completely lifting restrictions on foreign capital access in manufacturing and easing market access for services such as telecommunications and healthcare. It is said that it will. It will be more convenient for foreigners to work, study and travel in China, further reform and innovation of free trade zones, and a high level of opening up in all aspects will be promoted.

Meanwhile, China is turning into the world's manufacturing center as competitive products are continuously exported to other countries. The proportion of high-tech products and large equipment in exports is increasing. However, there are still gaps in core technologies between China and Western countries, and further efforts are needed to promote technological and scientific innovation.

Moreover, the value added of China's primary and tertiary industries accounted for 7.1% and 54.6% of GDP, respectively, last year, while in most developed countries, the corresponding figures were less than 5% and more than 60%. It's nothing more than that.

To further reduce inequality, China needs to ensure full employment and promote the transfer of agricultural labor to non-agricultural industries, especially the tertiary industry. As a result, the country's industrial structure will become more modernized, thereby creating better conditions for further economic growth.

The author is a professor at the National Development Strategy Institute of Renmin University of China.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.