China trade economy File photo: VCG

China's economy faces more opportunities than challenges in 2024, with economic growth remaining on the recovery trajectory and more factors contributing to high-quality growth, said an official from the General Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, discussing the just-concluded Central Economic Work Conference.

The official said the country's major economic targets set for 2023 are expected to be achieved. The country's economic development will enter a new level, with some institutions and economists predicting that the economy will grow by 5.2 percent or higher, with total GDP exceeding 126 trillion yuan ($17.7 trillion). China will remain the largest engine of global growth, contributing to around one-third of the world's economic growth, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Consumer prices will remain stable, and basic equilibrium will be maintained in the balance of payments, while high-quality growth will be steadily boosted, the official said.

In 2024, China's economic growth faces more opportunities than challenges and more favorable conditions. The international landscape is fraught with challenges, geopolitical disputes and military conflicts. The world economic growth still lacks momentum, with some financial institutions predicting that the global economy and international trade will not return to pre-COVID-19 levels in 2024, the official said.

Domestically, there are "bottlenecks in the domestic economic flow", with challenges including a lack of effective demand, overcapacity in some industries, weak public expectations and the hidden risks, the official said.

China has the world's highest colossal market growth potential. Along with gradual improvement in social expectations, high savings will translate to consumption and investment, the official said.

Meanwhile, macroeconomic policies will continue to support recovery. The issuance of additional a trillion yuan ($139 billion) in special government bonds, interest rates and reserve requirement ratio cuts, and tax and fee cuts will continue to produce positive effects in 2024, the official said, noting that more measures to support the economy are to be announced next year.

There are sufficient policy tools to use, as the low consumer prices and central government debt levels provide room for accelerating monetary and fiscal stimulus, the official said. 

He added that comprehensively deepening reform and opening up will inject strong impetus into the economy and a new round of structural reforms and industrial upgrading will create new development opportunities.

The official said that authorities will strengthen demand-side management in 2024, calling for further efforts to coordinate domestic demand and improving supply so as to fully leverage China's market advantages.

Moreover, the official pledged efforts to boost the development of the private sector with measures including improving the legal system, introducing more reforms in market entry to protect the interests and rights of private enterprises.

The official said that more measures will be taken to actively diffuse risks in the property sector, accelerate the formulation of new growth models, and advance the construction of affordable housing for the public.