To address lack of effective demand, we adopted a combination of measures to expand investment, stimulate consumption, and stabilize foreign trade.

Consumer spending was hit hard last year, and investment also suffered.

In response, we launched several major projects set out in the 14th Five-Year Plan ahead of schedule, expedited the processes of issuing and utilizing local government special-purpose bonds, made better use of carryover quotas for special-purpose bonds in accordance with the law, and issued development and policy-backed financial instruments in two batches totaling 740 billion yuan to replenish the capital for major projects.

We used targeted re-lending, loan interest subsidies, and other policies to support key sectors in upgrading equipment.

To speed up project screening, different government departments established joint offices and a commitment-based approval system was adopted for local governments.

In 2022, investments in infrastructure and the manufacturing sector increased by 9.4 percent and 9.1 percent respectively, while fixed-asset investment increased by 5.1 percent.

This has, to some degree, offset the contraction in consumption.

We fostered new modes and new forms of consumer spending and adopted measures including reductions and exemptions on vehicle purchase tax to boost spending on automobiles.

As a result, sales of new-energy vehicles surged by 93.4 percent.

Initiatives were launched to stimulate spending on green and smart home appliances and green building materials in rural areas.

Thanks to these efforts, we kept total retail sales of consumer products generally stable.

We adopted financial measures to meet people’s demand for buying their first home or improving their housing situation and took concrete steps to ensure that overdue housing projects were completed and delivered to meet people’s basic living needs.

We assisted foreign trade enterprises in tackling difficulties relating to raw materials, labor, and logistics, improved loading, unloading and transport efficiency in ports, and responded promptly to the concerns of foreign-funded enterprises and helped resolve their problems.

The volume of trade in goods exceeded expectations, and utilized foreign investment increased steadily.

In response to significant employment pressure, we boosted policy support to stabilize and increase employment.

Last year, the surveyed urban unemployment rate saw a notable increase for some time.

Therefore, we put a stronger emphasis on ensuring stable employment when implementing fiscal, tax, financial, and investment policies.

We postponed the payment of social insurance premiums by enterprises in distressed sectors, significantly increased the proportion of unemployment insurance funds returned to enterprises to keep payrolls stable, and raised subsidies for stabilizing and increasing employment.

To support business startups, we implemented policies on guaranteed loans and on reducing or waiving the rent for state-owned premises.

We made college graduates employment a priority and provided targeted assistance to people who had difficulty finding employment.

Work-relief programs in major projects were expanded.

More than 32 million people were lifted out of poverty with new employment, maintaining a steady increase.

Thanks to these efforts, overall employment remained stable.

In the face of a global surge in inflation, we strived to ensure market supply and stable prices, particularly those of food and energy.

Last year, global inflation rocketed to a 40-year high, exerting great pressure on domestic price stability.

We responded effectively to major natural disasters such as floods and droughts.

To see that no time was lost during the planting and harvest seasons, we worked to ensure unrestricted movement of agricultural machines on public roads and saw that farming was free from disruptions.

We issued agricultural supply subsidies to grain growers in three installments.

All this helped ensure good grain harvests and stable supplies of major agricultural products.

We leveraged the role of coal as a major source of energy, increased advanced coal production capacity and stepped up support for power plants and heat-supply enterprises to ensure energy supplies.

Despite high global inflation, we have kept overall prices at a comparatively low level, which is truly remarkable.

To assist people experiencing increased difficulties in their lives, we bolstered support to ensure their basic living needs.

We took time-limited measures to expand the scope of subsistence allowances and other social security policies to cover more groups in difficulty.

Continuing the policy on expanding unemployment insurance coverage, we provided unemployment benefits to over 10 million people in total.

We also provided price subsidies for more people on low incomes, benefiting about 67 million in all.

We waived interest payments on government-subsidized student loans to college graduates with financial difficulties and granted extensions on the principal repayments for these loans.

We provided emergency assistance to people hit hard by the epidemic or natural disasters, thus ensuring that the basic living needs of all our people were met.

We also fully implemented the plans set forth at the Central Conference on Economic Work and in the Report on the Work of the Government approved at the Fifth Session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), and made coordinated advances in all fields of economic and social development.

Thanks to our dedicated work, consumer demand, market distribution, industrial production, and business expectations have all markedly improved.

China’s economy is staging a steady recovery and demonstrating vast potential and momentum for further growth.