英譯概念：Stability of China's economy in 2022
【明報專訊】At the Central Economic Work Conference in December 2021, the Government made the observation that economic development was facing the three-fold pressures of "shrinking demand, supply chain shock and weakening expectations". CCTV reports even mentioned the word "stability" 25 times. At the 2021-2022 China Economic Annual Conference held in Beijing in the same month, Han Wenxiu, deputy director of the Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, mentioned that "stability" was the most prominent keyword of this economic conference and that "steady" should be the keyword for 2022 and progress should be sought amid stability. All regions and departments must shoulder the responsibility of stabilising the macro economy and actively introduce policies that were conducive to economic stability, said Han.
In 2021, China's total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded RMB 40 trillion, an increase of 12.5% over 2020. Fixed asset investment (excluding farmers) exceeded RMB 50 trillion, an increase of 4.9% over 2020. The contribution rate of domestic demand to economic growth reached 79.1%, an increase of 4.4 percentage points over 2020.
Han Wenxiu said that China's advantage lay in its huge potential from domestic demand. It is necessary to implement the strategy of expanding domestic demand, promote the continuous recovery of consumption, actively expand effective investment, accelerate infrastructure investment, and step up investment in pollution reduction, carbon reduction, new energy, new industries, etc. He also mentioned the current economic problems, including the weakening growth momentum of consumption and investment, the disruptions to the supply chain, the lack of chips and electricity in production, the increasing cost pressure on small and medium-sized enterprises and unstable market expectations. However, he emphasised the resilience and great potential of the Chinese economy, and there were many favourable conditions for economic development. His observation was that the trend of sustained recovery and development would remain unchanged, neither would the fundamentals of long-term improvement.
Mock examination question
"In order to maintain the stable development of China's economy, it is necessary to step up the development of domestic demand potential." Refer to the source and explain two reasons to support this statement. (4 marks)
(1) A major driving force of China's economy
According to the source, China's economic growth is mainly driven by domestic demand. In 2021, total retail sales of consumer goods in China exceeded RMB 40 trillion, an increase of 12.5% over 2020, while the contribution rate of domestic demand to economic growth reached 79.1%, an increase of 4.4 percentage points over 2020. It can be seen that domestic demand is the most important component of China's economic growth. Stepping up the development of domestic demand potential is conducive to maintaining its importance to economic development and to stable economic development.
(2) Reduce the impact of external factors
Furthermore Han Wenxiu, deputy director of the Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, mentioned that China's current economic problems included weakening consumption, weakening investment growth momentum and supply chain disruptions. These problems were partly due to economic globalisation. The COVID-19 pandemic, for example, caused the rupture of the supply chain at one point, affecting the development of manufacturing and export industries. Stepping up the development of domestic demand potential will help reduce the impact of external factors (such as the pandemic situations of foreign countries and diplomatic issues) on the economy and is conducive to stable economic development.
(本刊刊出的文章若提出批評，旨在指出相關制度、政策或措施存在錯誤或缺點，目的是促使矯正或消除這些錯誤或缺點，循合法途徑予以改善，絕無意圖煽動他人對政府或其他社群產生憎恨、不滿或敵意。)
[智學公民 第038期]
