The year 2024 was a truly remarkable year in China’s development journey.
At its third plenary session, the 20th Central Committee of the Communist
Party of China (CPC) set forth plans for further deepening reform
comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization. We celebrated the
75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China,
greatly inspiring patriotism and dedication in the Chinese people of all ethnic groups.
Over the past year, in the face of complex and challenging developments
marked by mounting external pressures and growing domestic difficulties,
we, the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, have overcome difficulties and
continued to forge ahead under the strong leadership of the CPC Central
Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core.
We ensured overall stable performance and steady growth of the economy
and accomplished the main goals and tasks for economic and social development
in 2024. Solid headway was made in pursuing high-quality development and
fostering new quality productive forces. China’s economic strength,
scientific and technological capabilities, and composite national strength
continued to rise, and solid new strides were made in advancing Chinese
modernization. These achievements have filled us with even greater confidence
and resolve as we press forward on the new journey to build a modern socialist
country in all respects in the new era.
Stable performance was consolidated and sustained, as demonstrated in the following areas:
Steady expansion of the economy: China’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose
to 134.9 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5 percent. China ranks among
the world’s fastest-growing major economies, continuing to contribute about
30 percent to global economic growth.
Generally stable employment and prices: A total of 12.56 million urban jobs were
created, and surveyed urban unemployment rates averaged 5.1 percent.
The consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.2 percent.
A basic equilibrium in the balance of payments: Foreign trade reached a record high,
and the global market share of China’s exports increased steadily.
Foreign exchange reserves surpassed 3.2 trillion US dollars.
Steady progress in ensuring the people’s wellbeing: Per capita
disposable income grew by 5.1 percent in real terms. Achievements
made in poverty alleviation were further consolidated and expanded,
and greater support was provided for compulsory education, basic old-age
insurance, basic medical insurance, and social assistance. Well-ordered and
effective steps were taken to defuse risks in key areas, helping ensure
overall social stability.
Strong and solid progress was achieved, as shown in the following areas:
New advancements in industrial upgrading: Grain output hit a new high
of 700 million metric tons, with the yield per hectare rising by 75.75 kilograms.
The value added of high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing
rose by 8.9 percent and 7.7 percent respectively, and the output of new-energy
vehicles passed the 13 million mark. The value added increased by 10.9 percent in
the sectors of information transmission, software, and IT services and by
10.4 percent in leasing and business services.
Further enhancements in innovation capacity: New achievements were
made in integrated circuits, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology,
and other areas. The Chang’e-6 mission completed humanity’s
first-ever sample collection from the far side of the moon, and the
Mengxiang ocean drilling vessel was delivered and commissioned.
The value of technology contract transactions increased by 11.2 percent.
New improvements in the environment: In cities at and above the
prefectural level, the average concentration of fine particulate
matter (PM5) fell by 2.7 percent, and the proportion of days with
good or excellent air quality rose to 87.2 percent. The proportion
of surface water with a good quality rating reached 90.4 percent.
Energy consumption per unit of GDP dropped by more than 3 percent,
and installed renewable energy capacity grew by 370 million kilowatts.
New breakthroughs in reform and opening up: We implemented the
reform plans adopted at the second and third plenary sessions of the
20th CPC Central Committee with solid and effective steps, which
included completing the reform of government institutions across
the board, adopting major reform measures for building a unified
national market, and gradually raising the statutory retirement age.
All market access restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing
sector were lifted, and trade and investment cooperation under the Belt
and Road Initiative was steadily expanded and upgraded.
Our achievements in 2024 did not come easily. The adverse impact
of changes in the international environment increased, and some
deep-seated structural problems that had been building up in the
country for years came to a head. Sluggish domestic demand was
compounded by weak public expectations along with other issues,
and natural disasters like floods occurred frequently in some parts
of China. All this added to the difficulty of maintaining economic
and social stability.
However, we responded to this array of difficulties and challenges
with both active and effective steps: We redoubled efforts to
implement adopted policies and improved macro regulation in
a timely manner. In particular, we took firm actions to implement
a package of new policies that was decided on by the Political
Bureau of the Central Committee at a meeting on September 26.
This led to a notable rebound in the economy and effectively
boosted public confidence, ensuring the fulfillment of our goals
for 2024 and laying a good foundation for development in 2025.
In the course of this, we deepened our understanding of the laws
governing economic work and became more keenly aware that the centralized,
unified leadership of the Party Central Committee is essential to doing
our economic work well. It is also clear that we must properly handle
the relationships between an efficient market and a well-functioning government,
between aggregate supply and demand, between fostering new growth
drivers and upgrading old ones, between optimizing allocation
of new resources and making the best use of existing ones,
and between enhancing quality and expanding total output.
What we have achieved once again proves that under the
strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade
Xi Jinping at its core and with the dedicated efforts of our
people across the country, we can prevail over any difficulty in pursuing development.