How Are China’s Economic Policies Formulated? A Session on the China Annual Central Economic Work Conference

Dr. Wang Yiming,

Dr. Zhao Changwen,

Ms. Jiang Xiheng,

Colleagues from DRC and CIKD,

Colleagues from the UN in China, Mongolia, and Pakistan,

Thank you for joining today’s session on China’s economic policies.

Today, we are honoured to have Dr. Wang Yiming and Dr. Zhao Changwen explain how China’s economic policies are formulated and share their insights on the 2021 Central Economic Conference and its implications to the UN’s work in China.

China is the second-largest economy globally, with an annual GDP worth RMB 114.4 trillion (equal to USD17.7 trillion) in 2021. Its economic situation does not only matter to the people of China but also impacts the world, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the past year, both China and the world have struggled with the pandemic, which continues deteriorating the global economy and threatening the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. Through its successful management of the pandemic, China led the world in economic recovery during 2021. In the last year, the country’s economy grew by 8.1 per cent, indicating a significant rebound from the 2.3 per cent growth of 2020.  

The Annual Central Economic Work Conference is well renowned as the highest-level economic conference of China, attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. The recently concluded conference last December called 2021 a milestone year as China managed to balance its economic development while controlling the spread of COVID-19.

It involved a review of the country’s work in 2021, analyzed the current situation and mapped out priorities for 2022. After four decades of rapid growth, China is transitioning to high-quality development, which aims to address social and environmental problemswhile pursuing economic growth. Through the conference, China has set the tone for its development in 2022, with many priorities highly relevant to the UN’s work in China, including:

• Strengthen the financial and monetary policies to better support SMEs;
• Promote more balanced and coordinated regional development, including the advancement of rural revitalization and urbanization;
• Improve the basic public services and social protection system in areas of education, health, elderly care, housing, and social assistance;
• Accelerate the efforts of transition to low-carbon and green development and achieving carbon neutrality.

All of these are in alignment with the strategic priorities of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for China. Thus, I think it’s important and helpful for the UN country team in China to have a robust perspective on Central Economic Work Conference. I hope this is also helpful for our UN colleagues in Mongolia and Pakistan.

In the next one and half hours, Dr. Wang and Dr. Zhao will present the key outputs of the 2021 Central Economic Conference and discuss with us the development process of China’s economic policies and their implications to the UN’s work. Before starting the presentation, please allow me to give a brief introduction to our two honoured speakers.

Dr. Wang Yiming works as the Vice Chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and Member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. From 2015 to 2020, he served as the Vice President of the Development Research Center of the State Council of China. Prior to that, he worked at the National Development and Reform Commission for more than 20 years. He has been engaged in research on macroeconomic policy, strategy, and planning, published more than 200 academic papers and theoretical articles in important journals, and won many awards for outstanding research achievements.

Dr. ZHAO Changwen is the President of the Center for International Knowledge on Development (CIKD) and a member of the 14th Five-Year Plan Expert Advisory Committee in China. Meanwhile, he serves as Commissioner at the Energy Transition Commission, senior advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and member of the advisory boards for several provincial governments. Prior to joining CIKD, Dr. Zhao had served as the Director-General of the Development Research Center for 10 years. Before that, he was the Vice President of Sichuan University. His research interest includes development issues, green development, digital economy, industrial policy, financial reform, and SOE reform.

Dr. Wang and Dr. Zhao, thank you for joining us. We look forward to learning from you. Now, the floor is yours.