Tourists admire the skyline view of Lujiazui area at the Bund in Shanghai. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

The most important word of China's Central Economic Work Conference is "stability," which means that various policy measures will be taken to boost demand, support market entities and ensure stable growth in 2020, senior Chinese economic officials said when elaborating on outcome of the top tone-setting meeting.

Next year's economic work should prioritize stability and seek progress while maintaining stability, said Han Wenxiu, deputy director in charge of routine work of the Office of the Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

"All sides should actively introduce policies that can help stabilize the economy, and be cautious in rolling out measures that will have a contractionary effect," Han said during a seminar explaining the conference's results.

At the Central Economic Work Conference concluded on Friday, top Chinese policymakers put heavy emphasis on economic "stability" - referring to the term 25 times - to address various challenges over the next year ranging from shrinking demand and supply crunch to downward pressure on economic growth.

The conference is a key meeting that outlines the country's top economic policy priorities for 2022.

Ning Jizhe, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, also pointed out that the conference put "stable economic growth" at its core.

China will continue strengthening policy support for market entities, Ning said.

"This year, the reason the economy was operated within an appropriate range and achieved world-leading results cannot be separated from the effect of macro policies and the hard work of business entities," Ning said.

However, market entities still face challenges, as enterprise costs surged fast, he warned, while urging that domestic demand potential must be fully tapped.

Consumption-boosting policies targeting auto and home appliances should be implemented, among other measures. 

"The huge potential of China's development lies in the vast rural areas and the central and western regions. We should tap into this potential and transform the potential into effective demand," Ning said.

Global Times