Chen Wenjun:

Thank you, Mr. Huang. Now the floor is open for questions. Please identify your media outlet before raising questions.

CCTV:

This year's government work report reviewed the work accomplished and achievements attained last year. What's your thoughts of these achievements? When reviewing the achievements of last year, the report described that these achievements "did not come easily." What's the difference in last year's difficulties? How were these difficulties overcome? Thank you.

Huang Shouhong:

We have all experienced the past year together. Different people may have different opinions towards the achievements we made last year. Generally speaking, I believe that these achievements are commendable and carry weight. They demonstrate both significant progress and great potentials, and consist of both material and cultural wealth.

We can see external, tangible, and visible achievements that can be measured by data. For instance, China's economic aggregate surpassed 126 trillion yuan, with a growth rate of 5.2%. We can make comparisons both horizontally and vertically. By a vertical comparison, the growth rate of 5.2% is 2.2 percentage points faster than last year, and is faster than the average annual growth rate of 4.5% in the past three years during the COVID-19 pandemic. By a horizontal comparison, China takes a leading position among major global economies and is still the largest driver of growth for the global economy, contributing about 30% to total global economic growth.

There are also achievements that cannot or are difficult to be quantified but can be perceived and felt by everybody. For example, new industries, new business forms and models continue to emerge; public transportation is more convenient and there is a larger variety of goods and services for people.

In addition to that, there are also many intrinsic, profound and silent changes, such as the transformation of concepts, consistent improvement to institutions, improvements in conduct and accelerated shift with the growth model.  

Overall, we can perceive the achievements we made last year from multiple dimensions and perspectives. This is like what a Chinese poem says, "One gets different impressions of a mountain when viewing it from the front, sideways, at a close range or from afar." We will have different feelings about these achievements when viewing them from different perspectives. Generally speaking, China's economic development last year saw both growth in quantity and improvement in quality as well as intangible positive trends. It can be said that these achievements are high-value additions. In his 2024 New Year message, General Secretary Xi Jinping spoke profoundly about the work and achievements in the previous year. In 2023, we marched forward with solid and robust steps, in high spirits and with great confidence.

These achievements have been attained with tremendous efforts and are extraordinary. In your question, you mentioned that when we talk about these achievements we often say that these achievements came with difficulty. During the process of soliciting opinions, many organizations and individuals put forward suggestions, and the word "uneasily" in their comments was always preceded by a word, some by "very," some by "particularly," some by "extremely," and so on. As mentioned earlier, this year's report values plainness and simplicity, so these adverbs, including "very," "extremely" and "particularly," were not added. However, last year was indeed not easy. You all experienced last year personally and must have deep feelings. At the beginning of last year, we achieved a smooth transition with our COVID-19 response efforts. The transition itself was a complex process and all parties have made tremendous efforts, which in itself is a great achievement.

In terms of economic development, according to the report, we were faced with a combination of multiple difficulties and challenges, which can be said to be rarely seen in our work. It is the interlacing of multiple factors such as pandemic factors and complicated economic recovery factors. During the last three years of the pandemic, we have made great achievements in protecting people's lives and health. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected China's economic performance and damaged its economy. In addition, contradictions and risks that have been building up over the years are becoming more evident, including the risks in the real estate sector, local government debt and small and medium-sized financial institutions. We also encountered many new conditions and problems, such as insufficiency with domestic demand and decline in external demand as well as co-existence of cyclical and structural problems. Honestly speaking, it would not be easy to cope with just one of these challenges. It would be harder to effectively handle all these challenges. Therefore, faced with an extremely complicated and severe situation, it was not easy for us to maintain stable economic performance and complete the tasks for economic development in 2023. In many areas, just as mentioned in the report, there are many positive trends, which are even harder to achieve. Therefore, to understand the achievements of last year, we must combine background and situational circumstances. It is just like when we look at a painting, we need to look at the background.

What does China owe to its commendable achievements that did not come easily in the past year? The report notes that we owe our achievements in 2023 to General Secretary Xi Jinping, who is at the helm charting the course, to the sound guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, to the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and to the concerted efforts of the whole Party, the armed forces, and Chinese people of all ethnic groups. At the same time, these achievements once again demonstrate the decisive significance of establishing Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era while fully demonstrating the strong resilience, potential and momentum of China's economy.