Posted on 29 Dec 2020
Consumption is expected to become a major driving force for China’s economic growth in 2021 with more supportive policies in place, while the country’s fiscal spending is likely to focus more heavily on public services to improve livelihoods, particularly in education, health and elderly care, to keep the economy stable and within a proper range, experts said.
A report issued yesterday by the Academic Center for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking at Tsinghua University forecast that China’s GDP is expected to expand by 2.1% year-on-year in 2020, with fourth-quarter growth of 5.5%.
It predicted that the economy is likely to grow by 8 to 9% in 2021 if the Covid-19 pandemic situation continues to taper off, and by about 5% if the pandemic makes a severe comeback during the winter and spring.
“Inadequate demand and weak consumption are the major issues facing China’s growth at the moment. Robust policy support shall be put in place to boost effective demand, particularly in consumer activities, ” Li Daokui, a professor and dean of the Tsinghua think tank, said yesterday at the release of the report.
In particular, Li said future policy steps shall focus more on people’s pursuit of better livelihoods and their demand for smoother, more facilitated migration between urban and rural areas with certain institutional hurdles gradually being phased out. Internet business and the digital economy shall develop with more targeted regulatory approaches.
Source:The Star
