A view of Beijing Photo: VCG

Chinese officials said on Tuesday that efforts to build a unified national market have played a positive role in unleashing domestic consumption potential and consolidating the economic recovery, as many problems that hindered fair market access have been effectively addressed. 

China has been ramping up efforts to root out local protectionism and other barriers to establish a unified national market with high efficiency, fair competition, and an open and vast domestic market, part of the country's broad campaign for a consumption-led economy amid an increasingly complex and severe global geo-economic situation.

Experts said that building a unified national market will boost domestic demand, which in turn will help the world's second-largest economy navigate weakening external demand and growing uncertainties in the global market to achieve stable development.  

At a press conference on Tuesday, officials from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top economic planner, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Transport and the State Administration for Market Regulation, said that efforts to build a unified national market have made progress in various aspects. 

"Overall, accelerating the construction of a unified national market has played a positive role in smoothing domestic circulation, stimulating market vitality, reducing transaction costs, releasing domestic demand potential, and consolidating the foundation for an economic recovery," Li Chunlin, deputy head of the NDRC, told the press conference.

According to Li, over the past year, prominent problems regarding local protectionism and market segmentation have been eliminated. In this regard, the NDRC received more than 1,100 leads, and it oversaw the complete rectification of more than 90 percent of the valid leads. 

Key tasks to promote effective market connectivity have yielded results and progress has been achieved in deepening reforms in key areas such as fiscal systemic reform.

China first released a guideline on establishing a unified national market in April 2022, in a bid to promote the efficient circulation and expansion of the domestic market, foster a stable, fair, transparent and predictable business environment, and reduce market transaction costs, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Top documents and meetings, including the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Central Economic Work Conference held earlier this month, put a heavy emphasis on forming a unified national market. Most recently, a State Council executive meeting on December 18 stressed that building a unified national market is crucial to release the potential of domestic demand and consolidate the foundation for an economic recovery.

Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, said that efforts to establish a unified national market are effective ways to promote domestic consumption and improve the domestic business environment as a whole, which are both crucial for China's economic development.

"In terms of the business environment, a unified national market has a crucial role in improving investment and the business environment nationwide," Li told the Global Times on Tuesday, noting that policy consistency, transparency and predictability will be improved. 

China's efforts to form a unified national market are also crucial reform measures in response to a weakening external environment, according to Li Chang'an, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics.

"From a broader perspective, this is in line with China's focus on improvement in the business environment and deepening reforms. I also think that it is a major move to counter foreign slander against the Chinese economy," Li Chang''an told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Some foreign media outlets and other organizations have stepped up smearing of the Chinese economy, painting a grim outlook for China's economic growth in 2024. The US-based Business Insider on Monday, citing the Conference Board's China Center for Economics and Business, claimed that "China's economy will keep struggling in 2024." 

While challenges will remain due to the global economic downturn, a rising number of signs suggest that China's economy is headed for a solid start in early 2024, experts noted. Among these signs are booming tourism ahead of the New Year's Day holiday and accelerated implementation of projects under the plan to  issue 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) in bonds.