Editorial

On Track for Growth Target

Flagging global recovery momentum， rising trade protectionism，and flaring geopolitical tensions have not dampenedChina’s economic growth. The country’s GDP grew 4.8 percentyear-on-year in the first three quarters of 2024， rising toRMB 94.97 trillion， data from the National Bureau of Statisticsshowed.

However， there have been misgivings about China’s growthprospects， caused by recent fluctuations in the stock marketand the side effects of structural adjustments， coupled with theWestern rhetoric about China’s economy peaking. But expertssay the problems are temporary.

“China has adequate leeway for financial and monetarypolicies，” Lin Yifu， dean of the Institute of New StructuralEconomics at Peking University， said at a recent economists’forum. “If we can enact proper policies and implement them，we can stabilize confidence and the economy will be back tothe normal growth track.” Lin also highlighted the importanceof developing new productive capacities to maintain mediumto-high-speed growth.

That is already being done. In September， a package of incrementalpolicies was issued. Zheng Shanjie， head of the NationalDevelopment and Reform Commission， said they are designedto strengthen counter-cyclical macro policy adjustment， expandeffective domestic demand， and increase efforts to helpenterprises. They will also stabilize the real estate market andboost the capital market. Besides， they are expected to improvethe quality of economic development and support the healthydevelopment of the real economy and business entities.

The week-long National Day holiday in October demonstratedChina’s strong consumption momentum， fueled by boomingtourism. With 765 million domestic trips made， a yearlyincrease of 5.9 percent， domestic tourist spending during theholiday climbed 6.3 percent to RMB 700.8 billion， according tothe Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The postal and express delivery industry also saw a surgeduring the holiday. A total of 3.16 billion parcels were collected，with the average daily collection increasing by 28.4 percentyear-on-year. Over 3.12 billion parcels were delivered， the dailyvolume expanding by 26.7 percent year-on-year. In the 2024Fortune Global 500 list， China Post topped postal operatorsworldwide in both revenue and profit. During the first eightmonths of this year， the postal service provider raked in a revenueof RMB 472.17 billion and profits of RMB 70.48 billion.

Meanwhile， to stabilize the property market， China is expandingits “white list” mechanism to ensure that all eligible"property projects have access to financial support. The whitelist was devised this year for local authorities to recommendeligible real estate projects to financial institutions to disburseloans for reasonable financing needs. The Ministry of Housingand Urban-Rural Development and the National FinancialRegulatory Administration have underlined the need to ensurethe delivery of homes， asking the local authorities to adoptmeasures to stabilize the real estate market and halt the declinein prices.

The National Day holiday was also a “golden week” for housingdevelopers and agencies， galvanized by a string of stimulusmeasures nationwide to reduce financial burdens on home buyersand relax or even scrap rules constraining property transactions.More than 5，000 pre-owned homes were sold in Beijing，soaring by over 150 percent， according to real estate agencyCentaline Property. In Shanghai， sales of pre-owned homesduring October 1-6 multiplied from the same period last year tosurpass 1，500 units， Xinhua reported.

More than 130 cities held events to promote commercialhousing sales and publicize policies during the holiday. Manycities， including first-tier ones like Beijing， Shanghai， and Hangzhou，lifted restrictions on buying properties and reduced theminimum down payment ratio.

On the finance front， a broader-than-expected policy packagewas announced in September to stimulate economic recovery.It included reducing the reserve requirement ratio for banksand mortgage rates for existing homes. In October， the centralbank announced setting up the Securities， Funds and Insurancecompanies Swap Facility （SFISF）， initially for RMB 500 billion，for healthy and stable development of the capital market. Asthe first monetary policy tool to boost the capital market， it willenable eligible securities， funds and insurance companies touse their assets as collateral in exchange for highly liquid assetssuch as treasury bonds and central bank bills， China’s centralbank said.

The new tool is expected to encourage the participation ofnon-bank institutions， improve the transmission efficiency ofmonetary policy in the capital market， and contribute to thebalanced development of bond， stock and other markets.

Experts say the fundamentals of China’s economic developmenthave not changed. Its huge market potential and strongeconomic resilience remain. As the stock market warms up， theproperty market picks up， and consumption burgeons， shoredup by incremental policies， China is on track to achieve its 2024growth target.