National Development and Reform Commission: Working with relevant departments to urgently study and formulate a strategy implementation plan to expand domestic demand

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on July 31, the National Development and Reform Commission held the July press conference. Zhou Hongwei, deputy director of the National Development and Reform National Economy Department, said at the press conference that recently, they are working with relevant departments to urgently study and formulate a strategic implementation plan to expand domestic demand (2026-2030). In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will work with relevant departments to take stronger and more practical measures to effectively expand domestic demand: adhere to the close integration of benefiting people's livelihood and promoting consumption, and vigorously boost consumption. The first is to increase consumption capacity. Deeply implement priority employment strategies, continue to carry out large-scale vocational skills upgrading training, and increase residents' income through multiple channels. The second is to tap the potential for service consumption. Adapt to the consumer needs of different groups, expand high-quality supply, and improve consumption of lifestyle services. The third is to promote the consumption of smart products. Increase the effective supply of next-generation smart terminal products such as artificial smartphones and computers, smart wearables, and intelligent robots, and expand smart services.

Jiang Yi, director of the Policy Research Office of the National Development and Reform Commission and press spokesman, said at the press conference that looking ahead to the second half of the year, the accelerated development of emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, the further strengthening of production capacity and output regulation, the gradual optimization of market competition order, and the continued release of consumer demand for services will provide good support for price recovery. At the same time, summer grain production reached a new high, the meat and egg production capacity base was stable, fruit and vegetable production remained stable, and the overall supply of important livelihood commodities was abundant. Overall, prices are expected to keep running smoothly in the second half of the year. In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will work with relevant departments to implement more active and promising macroeconomic policies, focusing on stabilizing employment, stabilizing enterprises, stabilizing markets, and stabilizing expectations, and enhancing endogenous momentum for economic development and price recovery. At the same time, pay close attention to market price fluctuations for important livelihood commodities, energy, etc., and continue to do a good job of securing supply and price stability to ensure the overall stability of market supply and the smooth operation of prices, and effectively secure the bottom line of people's livelihood.

The original text is as follows:

July press conference of the National Development and Reform Commission

Jiang Yi:

Good morning to all media friends. Welcome to the press conference of the National Development and Reform Commission. I am Jiang Yi, director of the Policy Research Office and press spokesperson of the Commission. Also attending today's press conference was Mr. Zhou Hongwei, Deputy Director of the National Economic Integration Department.

In the first half of this year, China's economy showed a trend of new momentum and improved structure, showing strong stability and certainty in a complex and severe international environment. On July 30, the Politburo meeting of the Central Committee made clear arrangements for economic work in the second half of the year. The National Development and Reform Commission will resolutely implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, work with relevant parties to complete concrete implementation without compromise, promote continuous economic development, complete economic and social development goals and tasks throughout the year with high quality, and push the “15th Five-Year Plan” to a good start.

Next, I will first report on the progress of some of the work in the first half of the year, and then work with Director Zhou to answer everyone's concerns.

First, speed up the implementation of the 109 major projects of the “15th Five-Year Plan”. A number of major projects have started this year, such as the new Three Gorges Water Transport Corridor, Guangzhou's new airport, and the Fujian Shangbaishi Water Conservancy Hub. Preliminary work on projects such as the east-west section of the Xinzang Railway and the modernization of the Dujiangyan Irrigation Area in Sichuan is also being accelerated, with a view to starting construction as soon as possible and creating a physical workload.

Second, solid progress has been made in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. In the first half of the year, China continued to deepen its strategic interface with joint national construction. In terms of economic and trade cooperation, the total import and export volume of goods with the joint construction countries reached 12.97 trillion yuan, an increase of 14.8% over the previous year, accounting for 50.9% of total foreign trade. The “Belt and Road” investment cooperation continues to extend to high-tech, green and low-carbon fields. In terms of connectivity, the Hungarian section of the Hungarian Railway opened for freight transportation, and construction of the entire Zhongjiu Railway line began. China-Europe trains maintained a strong development trend. A total of 11,186 trains were operated in the first half of the year, an increase of 20.2% over the previous year.

Third, the investment of 755 billion yuan within the central budget this year has basically been completed. We insist on the close integration of investment in goods and investment in people, and further increase government investment in people's livelihood. For example, in terms of emergency and disaster relief, since the flood began this year, our committee has urgently issued 14 batches of investment within the central budget, totaling 750 million yuan, to support the affected regions concerned in carrying out emergency rehabilitation of infrastructure and public service facilities after the disaster. For example, in terms of cash-for-work, funds of 39.5 billion yuan have been issued this year, and more than 7,800 projects have been implemented, attracting and driving the number of workers to 1.5 million, increasing per capita income by more than 10,000 yuan, giving full play to the comprehensive effects of promoting employment, helping to increase income, and benefiting people's livelihood.

I'll let you know about these first. Now let's move on to the questioning session. Please inform the media you represent before asking questions. Please ask questions.

CCTV News Reporter:

The “Six Zhang Network” has become a hot topic of interest for investment in all sectors of society. What are the characteristics of the “Six Zhang Network” construction, and how will the construction of the project be promoted in the future?

Jiang Yi:

Thank you, I'm here to answer your questions. The planning and construction of the “Six Zhang Network” is a major arrangement made by the Party Central Committee and the State Council in the year the “15th Five-Year Plan” began. It clearly reflects the characteristics of three aspects. Judging from the functional positioning, it can not only stabilize investment and expand domestic demand, but also a powerful gripper to increase momentum, improve efficiency, benefit people's livelihood, and ensure safety. Judging from the content of the project, it includes both traditional infrastructure and new infrastructure, focusing not only on repairing shortcomings, but also on forging long boards, fully reflecting the new situation and requirements for high-quality development. Judging from the implementation method, the “Six Zhang Network” is not a decentralized system that is independent of each other and operates separately, but rather an organic whole with deep coupling, mutual empowerment, and collaborative support. In the end, they all clung together, and the effect of integration is greater than simple superposition. Here, I'll give you an example. Take the collaboration of computing power grids with new power grids and next-generation communication networks. The new power grid provides a stable and clean power supply. The computing power grid acts as the “brain” to direct the intelligent scheduling and consumption of new energy sources, and the communication network acts as a “highway” for information transmission to support cross-regional scheduling and integrated collaboration of computing power. Overall, the planning and construction of the “six networks” is not only a major measure to effectively expand domestic demand, but also provides solid support for further strengthening the strategic foundation for the steady and far-reaching implementation of Chinese-style modernization.

In order to effectively carry out implementation, the National Development and Reform Commission has strengthened coordination and worked with relevant departments and local authorities to accurately plan and formulate special plans or implementation plans for each “network”, and strive to establish a physical workload as soon as possible. Thanks to the joint efforts of all parties, a large number of projects have been started quickly. Most of the major individual projects scheduled to start within the year have already started; construction of a large number of projects has been accelerated, such as the South-to-North Water Transfer Project in the main artery of the national water grid, the 1000 kV substation in Aba, Sichuan on the energy artery; and a large number of projects have been completed and operated. At the core node of the National Supercomputing Internet in Zhengzhou, 60,000 domestically produced AI chips are running at high speed, etc. The construction of the “Six Zhang Network” is being accelerated, and policy dividends continue to be released.

In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will work with relevant parties to highlight multi-network collaboration, software and hardware collaboration, and scenario collaboration, quickly and refine the implementation of specific plans, accelerate construction according to local circumstances, strengthen financial factor guarantees, and promote the transformation of planning blueprints into concrete projects that are real and effective around the masses. The focus is on “three priorities.”

First, focus on integrated overall layout and multi-network collaborative promotion. Consider the goals to be achieved, the problems to be solved, and the actual conditions to be met; adhere to a national game of chess and scientifically plan and build the “six networks” in terms of layout; insist on integration and mutual empowerment in promotion, and reflect the idea of multi-network integration into the whole process of planning, construction, and operation. For example, the layout and construction of a computing power network cannot be carried out all at once. It is necessary to strengthen the overall layout and orderly construction, and focus on adapting supply and demand, and collaboration in computing and electricity, so as to achieve scientific and reasonable, safe and reliable, green and low-carbon, and cost controllable.

Second, focus on achieving efficient use and solving practical problems. Adhere to problem orientation and goal orientation, and spend money on cutting edge, and construction must have an effect. For example, during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, the new power grid plans to invest more than 5 trillion yuan. Through innovations in power grid architecture, transmission and energy storage technology, and power supply services, etc., it will better meet the needs of electricity consumption and new energy consumption, and enhance the ability to cope with natural disasters and recover quickly. Another example is that the construction of a logistics network will further reduce the ratio of total social logistics costs to GDP during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, and support the efficient circulation of goods and resources throughout society. Another example is that the underground pipeline network plans to invest about 5 trillion yuan during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, which will speed up the completion of shortcomings and weaknesses in gas, water supply and drainage, and heating, and improve the safety and resilience of urban infrastructure and the quality of life of the masses.

Third, focus on breaking through blockages and improving the level of governance. Use project construction as an opportunity to strengthen “soft construction” such as rules and mechanisms, open up blockages in hardware interconnection, rule and standard connection, information sharing, market entry, etc., and enhance continuous operation and service capabilities. For example, by solving computing power, electricity, and data collaboration problems in different regions and fields, waste of resources is reduced and operational efficiency is improved; by solving the problem of connecting hardware facilities and rules and standards for different modes of transportation and vehicles, logistics costs are reduced and logistics efficiency is improved. Another example is that the “Six Zhang Network” governance is different from the past. It emphasizes monitoring and scheduling, and improves overall governance effectiveness through technical means such as artificial intelligence and reform initiatives such as information sharing. Another example is that in response to private enterprise access issues, water network construction attracted more than 10.8 billion yuan in private capital in the first half of the year, an increase of 85.8% over the previous year, and a number of projects with stable operating income will be launched to attract private enterprises to participate; relevant agencies estimate that during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, computing power network construction will increase direct investment by 4 trillion yuan. Considering that computing power construction is mainly enterprise investment, this will create huge space for private investment, and we will strengthen planning guidance and factor guarantee to create a favorable environment for private investment.

Xinhua News Agency Reporter:

China's economy grew by 4.7% in the first half of the year, but since the second quarter, some indicators have weakened. The GDP growth for the quarter was 4.3%, down to a certain extent from the first quarter; how should we view the current economic performance, and what risks and challenges will we face in achieving our annual goals?

Zhou Hongwei:

Thanks for the question. Much attention was paid to all aspects of the economic operation in the first half of the year. Since this year, the international situation has become more complex and serious, causing serious impacts on the operation of the world economy and the stability of the global industrial chain supply chain. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, we have effectively dealt with various external shocks and internal difficulties, and our economy is showing a trend of new momentum and structural improvement.

From a quantitative perspective, China's role as an anchor for global economic stability has been further highlighted. First, the scale of the economy is growing steadily. The gross domestic product grew 4.7% year on year in the first half of the year, continuing to rank among the leading economies, with an increase of 3.6 trillion yuan. Recently, while the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank lowered their world economic growth forecasts for this year, they raised China's growth forecasts by 0.2 percentage points. This comparison also shows that the international community has full confidence in China's economic development. Second, the economic trend is picking up steadily. The main indicators declined somewhat in April due to phased disturbances such as external shocks, but rebounded in May and June, and both supply and demand indicators improved. Third, employment and people's livelihood security is strong. The average unemployment rate in the urban survey in the first half of the year was 5.2%, and 6.95 million new jobs were added, all in line with annual expectations.

From a qualitative point of view, the results of China's innovation-driven development have been further demonstrated. First, new momentum accelerates growth. The development of new quality productivity accelerated, and new momentum such as high-end manufacturing, smart economy, and modern services contributed more than 40% to economic growth in the first half of the year. The value added of high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing increased by 13.3% and 9.3%, respectively. Second, the structure is constantly being optimized. A complete industrial system and technological innovation capabilities boosted the rapid growth of foreign trade. Import and export of goods increased by 16.9% in the first half of the year. Among them, exports of the “new three” and integrated circuits increased by 46.1% and 88.8% respectively. China's role as a “world factory” and “world market” was further demonstrated. The moderate recovery in prices led to improved efficiency, and the total profit of industrial enterprises above scale increased by 18.7%. Third, resilience continues to increase. Since this year, the global energy market has experienced sharp fluctuations, with energy shortages and soaring prices in some countries, while China has accelerated the construction of a new energy system, accurately implemented price control for refined oil products, achieved an overall balance between supply and demand and overall price stability, withstood shocks and showed strong resilience. At the end of June, China's installed electricity capacity exceeded 4 billion kilowatts, ranking first in the world.

As you mentioned, at present, China's economic operation is still facing some difficult challenges. The international environment is still uncertain, the impact of external shocks continues, natural disasters such as floods occur mainly in some regions, and there are still some difficulties and obstacles in the conversion process between old and new kinetic energy. However, it is also important to note that China's economy has a stable foundation, many advantages, strong resilience and great potential, and the long-term positive support conditions and basic trends have not changed. As the Party Central Committee and the State Council expedite implementation of various established arrangements, we are fully equipped, capable, confident, and motivated to overcome various difficult challenges in development, make good use of various opportunities and advantages, and ensure the achievement of the expected goals of economic and social development throughout the year and a good start to the “15th Five-Year Plan”. Thank you!

CCTV Finance Reporter:

In the first half of the year, geopolitical conflicts continued to disrupt the international oil and gas supply chain. Under such circumstances, China still achieved “freedom of air conditioning” and “freedom of use of electricity.” How is China coping with this shock? How will the high-quality development of the energy system be promoted in the future?

Jiang Yi:

Thank you. In the first half of the year, in the face of a complex and severe external environment, China always maintained a safe and stable supply of energy. While meeting domestic energy needs, it also made an important contribution to the stability of the global energy market and industrial chain supply chain. Looking back, what supports the sense of safety in electricity use is an energy system that is very large and operates in an orderly manner. The reason why China's energy system has shown strong resilience and withstood huge tests is that the Party Central Committee oversees the overall situation and plans scientifically. General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed a new energy security strategy as early as 2014, and is proactive in carrying out a forward-looking layout. Following the direction of General Secretary Xi Jinping's guidance, all parties paid close attention to implementation and established a system of “four insurances.”

First, in terms of supply, traditional energy has strong back-up support, and new energy sources have become an important force in electricity supply. The world's largest clean coal power supply system has been built. Crude oil production has increased to more than 200 million tons, and natural gas has grown by more than 10 billion cubic meters for 9 consecutive years, which is equivalent to adding 1 “atmospheric field” every year. At the same time, the world's largest and fastest growing renewable energy system has been built. Nearly 4 degrees of electricity for every 10 kilowatts of electricity used by the whole society is green electricity.

Second, in terms of demand, the green and low-carbon transformation continues to be strengthened, and the energy consumption structure continues to be optimized. Energy saving and carbon reduction transformation in key areas and industries have been further promoted, and energy consumption intensity has decreased markedly. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, China has supported economic growth of about 6% per year with an average annual energy consumption growth rate of about 6%; the penetration rate of new energy vehicles jumped from 5% at the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan to 48% at the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan; last year, China's share of non-fossil energy consumption surpassed that of petroleum for the first time.

Third, judging from the support conditions, infrastructure forms hard support, and reform and innovation stimulate motivation and vitality. The world's largest and most technologically complex AC/DC hybrid power grid was built, and a unified national electricity market was initially built to promote the efficient allocation of electricity resources throughout the country; the “national network” of oil and gas was tightly woven, and the total mileage of the long-distance oil and gas pipeline was equivalent to 5 circles around the Earth's equator. Key core technologies such as a sound oil and gas storage system and autonomous and controlled UHV transmission have also given us a solid foundation.

Fourth, from the perspective of international cooperation, import sources are diversifying and diversified import patterns are being formed at an accelerated pace. Four major energy import channels have been built in the northwest, northeast, southwest and offshore, covering more than 100 countries and regions. In 2025, the top ten sources of China's oil imports will be scattered across Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South America, Africa, North America and other regions. At the same time, in the face of drastic fluctuations in the international energy market, the Party Central Committee reviewed the situation and made decisive decisions, adhering to the people-centered idea of development, and vigorously implementing demand-side management to give priority to residents' production and domestic energy use; promptly introduced a series of temporary measures to control refined oil prices. During the sharp rise in international oil prices in March, the price increase for two consecutive rounds of refined oil products was only about 50% of the increase according to the mechanism, effectively reducing the oil costs of the whole society and minimized the pressure transmitted from international oil prices to the real economy and residents' production and life.

In the next step, we will thoroughly implement the new energy security strategy, accelerate the implementation of the “15th Five-Year Plan” plan and supporting plans and policies for the new energy system, and effectively push China to move from a “energy power” to an “energy power.” The focus is on working in three directions. The first is to ensure safe and stable supply. We will always put energy security first, establish a firm energy strategic security bottom line under extreme circumstances, strengthen the role of coal underwriting, increase oil and gas storage and production, enhance diversified energy imports and security guarantee capabilities, continue to expand the scale of non-fossil energy supply, and build a new power system adapted to a high proportion of new energy sources. The second is to promote inclusiveness and improve efficiency in an integrated manner. Focus on safeguarding energy demand in key areas such as people's livelihood, continue to promote the inclusiveness of power supply services, and accelerate the transformation from “using electricity well” to “using green electricity”; at the same time, establish a unified national energy market system and a self-reliant energy science and technology innovation system, implement energy supervision scientifically and efficiently, and reduce costs and improve efficiency through reform and innovation. The third is to further promote energy saving and carbon reduction. Energy activities account for about 90% of all carbon emissions. We have always insisted in our work that saving energy means reducing carbon. We will continue to build a green and low-carbon energy consumption system, fully implement a dual carbon emission control system, strengthen energy saving and clean substitution in key areas, accelerate the overall green transformation of economic and social development, and make new contributions to global energy transformation while better meeting domestic energy needs.

Economic Daily reporter:

Domestic demand indicators such as investment and consumption weakened in the second quarter. What is the next step to further tap the potential of domestic demand?

Zhou Hongwei:

Thanks for the question. A comprehensive dialectical analysis of the domestic demand development situation depends not only on scale, but also on structure, but also on trends.

In the first half of the year, domestic demand indicators were under pressure, but two highlights were outstanding. In terms of investment, the structure was continuously optimized, and investment in emerging sectors increased by 4.6% year on year, with investment in the information service industry increasing by 15.5%; national investment in intellectual property products increased by 9.4%, accounting for 13.8% of total investment; and investment in the purchase of equipment and tools increased by 8.1%. In terms of consumption, the market size continues to expand, new consumption momentum is developing rapidly, new service consumption scenarios are emerging at an accelerated pace, and retail sales of services increased by 5.3% in the first half of the year. At the same time, consumption of upgraded products is also growing rapidly. Retail sales of wearable smart devices such as smart glasses have more than doubled, and retail sales of energy-efficient appliances have grown by more than 30%.

Judging from the trend, the transformation and upgrading of the domestic demand structure and moving towards the next trend is a major trend. With China's economic growth and the improvement of people's living standards, commodity consumption will continue to be upgraded, and service consumption also has great potential for growth; adapting to the needs of the next generation of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, there is plenty of room for investment in new infrastructure and industries.

Recently, our committee is working with relevant departments to urgently study and formulate a strategic implementation plan to expand domestic demand (2026-2030). In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will work with relevant departments to take stronger and more practical measures to effectively expand domestic demand:

On the one hand, we insist on the close integration of benefiting people's livelihood and promoting consumption, and vigorously boost consumption. The first is to increase consumption capacity. Deeply implement priority employment strategies, continue to carry out large-scale vocational skills upgrading training, and increase residents' income through multiple channels. The second is to tap the potential for service consumption. Adapt to the consumer needs of different groups, expand high-quality supply, and improve consumption of lifestyle services. The third is to promote the consumption of smart products. Increase the effective supply of next-generation smart terminal products such as artificial smartphones and computers, smart wearables, and intelligent robots, and expand smart services.

On the other hand, we insist on the close integration of investment in goods and investment in people to stimulate endogenous motivation for investment. The first is to speed up the implementation of detailed and expanded effective investment policies. Coordinate “dual” construction, seize the peak construction season in the third quarter, speed up the investment and use of 800 billion yuan of new policy financial instruments, and speed up the issuance and use of special bonds. Raising the share of government investment in livelihood projects has led to a recovery in demand. The second is to speed up the commencement of construction of major projects where conditions are ripe. Promote the implementation of the 109 major projects proposed in the “Outline” of the “15th Five-Year Plan”, and do a good job in project planning, reserves and factor guarantees. Firmly push forward the “Six Zhang Network” planning and construction. Third, continue to stimulate the vitality of private investment. Improve long-term mechanisms for private enterprises to participate in the construction of major national projects. Give full play to the role of special funds for fiscal and financial coordination to promote domestic demand, and support the expansion of private investment. Promote the expansion and efficiency of real estate investment trusts (REITS) in the infrastructure sector.

China News Agency reporter:

The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which has just come to an end, has once again focused the world's attention on artificial intelligence on China. How does the National Development and Reform Commission view the current trend of artificial intelligence development in China, and what key measures will it take next?

Jiang Yi:

Thank you for your question. As you mentioned, at this conference, 351 exhibits were “world premieres”, and a large number of innovative achievements were showcased, which is a concentrated microcosm of the booming development of artificial intelligence in China. Judging from the situation in the first half of the year, the pace of independent innovation in artificial intelligence in China has accelerated, and rapid breakthroughs have been achieved in many parts of the entire industry chain, focusing on the following aspects. First, the computing power base was consolidated, and the first 100,000 card artificial intelligence supercluster produced nationwide was officially put into operation. By the end of June, the country's intelligent computing power had reached 2.8 times that of the same period last year. Second, model capabilities have skyrocketed. Local companies, such as Deep Search and Dark Side of the Moon, have successively released multiple open source models with trillion-level parameters. The total number of downloads of large domestic models has exceeded 10 billion times, and the adaptation of domestic models to domestic computing power chips has accelerated. Third, there is an active flow of elements. More than 120,000 high-quality data sets have been built, and a virtuous cycle of mutual promotion of computing power, models, and data has accelerated. Driven by the collaboration of various parties, artificial intelligence has become a surging driving force for economic growth, and related industries have maintained a high growth rate of more than 30%.

Currently, global artificial intelligence technology innovation has entered an unprecedented period of activity. At this year's World Artificial Intelligence Conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping raised the most fundamental and forward-looking questions of the four eras from the perspective of all humankind, profoundly revealing the governance difficulties, safety concerns, ethical confusion, and expectations of inclusiveness in the development of artificial intelligence, which resonated strongly with the international community. In the next step, we will fundamentally follow the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech, coordinate high-quality development and a high level of safety, so that artificial intelligence can run fast and steady.

In terms of high-quality development, the focus is on taking good care of the three key aspects of innovation, application, and ecology. The first is to accelerate independent innovation, focus on cutting-edge directions such as basic theory of big models, training and reasoning efficiency, multi-modal intelligence, and intelligent devices, strengthen basic research and technological innovation, accelerate open data sharing and artificial intelligence corpus construction, and provide richer data support for artificial intelligence innovation and application. The second is to highlight application guidance, accelerate the layout and construction of a national artificial intelligence application pilot base, focus on areas with high value, great contribution and good benefits, open up a number of high-value scenarios, create a number of benchmark applications, and promote the deep integration of artificial intelligence with the real economy. The third is to deepen ecological collaboration, promote collaborative innovation and efficient adaptation of the entire “model core cloud use” chain, vigorously cultivate intelligent native enterprises and artificial intelligence application service providers, support enterprises, universities, and scientific research institutions to carry out joint innovation around industry needs, and promote the industrial ecosystem.

In terms of high-level safety, the focus is on grasping the dynamic balance and healthy interaction between development and safety. The first is to improve the key institutional framework, speed up the artificial intelligence law legislation process, coordinate development and security, domestic and international, macro and micro, current and long-term, and strive to provide an artificial intelligence management plan reflecting Chinese characteristics and Chinese wisdom. The second is to strengthen risk monitoring, prevention and control, establish and improve technical monitoring, risk warning, and emergency response systems, insist that the development of artificial intelligence is people-led, used, and kind to people, and actively respond to the impact of artificial intelligence on economic operation and employment allocation. The third is to deepen global cooperation and common governance, accelerate the construction of world artificial intelligence cooperation organizations, strengthen the docking and coordination of development strategies, governance rules, and technical standards among countries, gradually form a global governance framework and standards for artificial intelligence, and always use human intelligence and international consensus to lead the development of artificial intelligence.

Elephant News Reporter:

We are concerned that the National Development and Reform Commission recently reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the work to build a unified national market, and mentioned that there are still some outstanding problems in the current construction of a unified national market. In response to these issues, what reform measures will be introduced next?

Jiang Yi:

Thank you for your question. Building a unified national market is both an offensive battle and a protracted battle. Thanks to the joint efforts of various departments and regions, related work has achieved some positive results; as the work continues to deepen, some deep-seated problems have also been revealed. Currently, the construction of a unified national market has entered a critical stage of deepening progress. We will focus on promoting reforms in the following four areas.

First, speed up the establishment of regulations and regulations. The focus is to play the “one regulation, three lists, and three systems” combo punch to try to solve some fundamental problems. “One regulation” is a unified national market construction regulation; the “three lists” are a list of matters that hinder the construction of a unified national market, a negative list of local financial subsidies, and a list of local government incentives and prohibitions to attract investment; the “three systems” refer to statistics, taxation, and assessment systems conducive to market unification. These regulations have both positive guidance and behavioral red lines. They will clearly define the scale and boundaries of the government's economic promotion actions, not only clarifying “what cannot be done”, but also clearly “what can be done”, guiding all parties to liberalize their hands and seek development and promote innovation according to local conditions on the basis of maintaining the bottom line of fair competition.

Second, optimize the connectivity of facilities. The focus is on breaking through bottlenecks in the circulation of goods and services, further improving the circulation efficiency of various elements and reducing distribution costs. For example, in recent years, China's container multimodal transport has developed rapidly, and traffic volume has grown rapidly, but at the same time, it has faced problems such as unconnected equipment standards, inconsistent documentation rules, and poor “last mile” connections between special railway lines entering the port and park, which have affected the cost and efficiency of multimodal transportation. We will vigorously promote models such as “one document to the end”, “one box to the end”, and “one quotation management to the end” to effectively promote cost reduction and efficiency.

Third, break through key areas. Strive to take the lead in breakthroughs in some key areas relating to the warmth of thousands of households and the development of tens of millions of business entities. For example, promoting mutual recognition of medical examination results across the country to provide convenience for more patients; another example is promoting the optimization of a unified national social insurance public service platform, unblocking the transfer and continuation of social security relationships, and promoting the rational flow and effective allocation of human resources.

Fourth, keep an eye on problem rectification. The goal is to focus on eliminating a number of persistent maladies. For example, in response to the chaos of disorderly competition at low prices among enterprises, we will comprehensively use methods such as production capacity control, standard guidance, price enforcement, and quality supervision to thoroughly rectify “internal rolling” competition. Another example is that in response to chaos in the field of tendering and bidding, we have recently introduced measures relating to on-site management and credit management, and will continue to deepen the rectification in the future. At the same time, we will improve the problem correction system, promptly alert and warn emerging sexual tendencies, publicly report typical outstanding issues, and seriously prosecute those that are bad in nature and in accordance with the law and regulations.

Voice of China Reporter at the general station:

What are the priorities or new initiatives of economic work in the second half of the year to achieve economic and social development goals and tasks throughout the year?

Zhou Hongwei:

Thanks for the question. Since this year, the spillover effects of geopolitical conflicts have continued to show, making it more difficult for the world economy to recover. In a complex and changing environment, our economy has shown strong resilience and vitality. Regarding economic work for the second half of the year, the Politburo meeting of the Central Committee held on July 30 has made comprehensive arrangements. The National Development and Reform Commission will thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, work hard to implement macroeconomic policies around implementing the “15th Five-Year Plan” and make greater efforts in the following four areas.

The first is to promote policy efforts to improve efficiency and enhance the consistency of macroeconomic policy orientations. We will insist on striving for steady progress, improving quality and efficiency, focusing not only on policy coordination, but also on strengthening policies. Deeply implement the “Outline” of the “15th Five-Year Plan”, play a “combo punch” of policies, give full play to the effectiveness of various inventory policies, increase countercyclical adjustment efforts, plan and introduce pragmatic and effective incremental policies in a timely manner, form an integrated effect of inventory policies and incremental policies, and focus on stabilizing employment, stabilizing enterprises, stabilizing markets, and stabilizing expectations.

Second, to improve people's livelihood, expand domestic demand and strengthen the large domestic market. We will firmly implement the strategy of expanding domestic demand and step up efforts to build a strong domestic market. Optimize the government investment structure, continuously improve the comprehensive benefits of investment, and promote the high-quality development of private investment. Take more measures to strengthen people's livelihood security, enhance residents' consumption capacity, tap the potential for service consumption, cultivate new consumption growth points, and form a virtuous circle where consumption and investment promote each other.

The third is to accelerate the cultivation of new momentum and continuously enhance development momentum and vitality. We will promote the smooth and continuous transformation of old and new kinetic energy, promote the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, strengthen long-term stable support for basic research, actively promote cutting-edge technological breakthroughs and future industrial development, thoroughly implement the “Artificial Intelligence +” campaign, focus on building emerging pillar industries, use new technology to accelerate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and promote actions to expand the capacity and quality of the service industry. Comprehensively deepen reforms and expand opening-up, create a fair and orderly market competition environment, optimize the environment for private economic development, expand the space for mutually beneficial international economic and trade cooperation, promote balanced development of trade, improve the foreign investment management system and overseas integrated service system, and actively attract and utilize foreign investment.

Fourth, strengthen security capacity building to further enhance the resilience of economic development. We will coordinate development and security to make the foundation of development more stable and resilient. Strengthen safety capacity building in key areas, consolidate the foundation of food security, strengthen the supply guarantee of energy resources, do a good job of securing supply during peak summer and winter seasons, ensure supply chain safety in important industrial chains, and do a solid job in flood control, emergency rescue and disaster relief. Thank you!

21st Century Economic Report Reporter:

This year's government work report proposes to cultivate six major emerging pillar industries. What is the current progress? We are concerned that the National Standing Committee on July 10 researched and deployed work related to cultivating emerging pillar industries, and proposed “the whole chain should promote large-scale development of emerging pillar industries.” How should I understand the meaning of “full chain”?

Jiang Yi:

Thank you for your question. Since this year, we will work with various departments and local authorities to thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council to accelerate the cultivation of emerging pillar industries. Related industries are developing rapidly, the pace of innovation has accelerated, and their pivotal role has become more prominent.

Taking the integrated circuit industry as an example, breakthroughs have continued to be made in key core integrated circuit technology research, and the first integrated circuit technology route “Tao Law” led by Chinese companies was released. We are giving full play to the advantages of a strong domestic market and a complete industrial chain to promote the construction of a number of major projects such as integrated circuit design, equipment, manufacturing, and sealing and testing. Some projects have reached the 100 billion level. In the first half of this year, integrated circuit production of large-scale industrial enterprises increased by 23.1% year on year, and reached a record high in a single month for 3 consecutive months in the second quarter; integrated circuit exports increased 88.7% year on year, contributing nearly one-third to the total increase in commodity exports. Furthermore, in the biomedical field, a total of 38 innovative drugs were approved for marketing in the first half of this year, with 31 innovative drugs made in China, with a total of about 100 billion US dollars. In the aerospace field, 41 large C919 airliners were delivered, and the safe flight time exceeded 130,000 hours. The first launch and recycling mission of the Long March 10B carrier rocket was a complete success, marking a major breakthrough in China's reusable rocket technology; in the field of intelligent robots, currently, for every 10 humanoid and four-legged intelligent robots sold worldwide, 8 are manufactured in China.

Building an emerging pillar industry is like cultivating a forest. It is necessary to work together in all aspects from seed selection and breeding to ecological cultivation in order to form an industrial forest with deep roots, rich species, and full of vitality, so as to achieve large-scale development at the trillion level. In line with my current priorities, I would like to introduce you to four aspects.

The first is to select good varieties and forward-looking layout of diverse technical routes. We will follow the rules of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, organize industrial innovation projects as needed around fields with high strategic value, high technical content, rapid growth, and deep cross-border integration, and provide targeted support for key core technology research.

The second is to carefully raise seedlings to strengthen the leading role of application scenarios. We will organize and implement large-scale application demonstration actions for new technologies, new products, and new scenarios to support the construction of a number of comprehensive major scenarios, integrated scenarios in the industry, and high-value small-incision scenarios to accelerate the transformation of more scientific and technological achievements into real productivity.

Third, gather trees into forests to create a good ecology for industrial development. We will give full play to the benchmark role of the National Venture Capital Guidance Fund to guide social capital to invest early, small, long-term, and hard in technology, vigorously develop venture capital and angel investment, and strengthen the supply of high-quality and patient capital. Fourth, reasonable layout, and insist on adapting to local conditions and healthy and orderly development. We will support all regions to scientifically and rationally choose development directions, formulate development plans, and introduce support policies, and adhere to orderly development and prevent disorderly competition, taking into account local realities.

Hong Kong Grand Duke Wenhui Reporter:

The price operation in the first half of the year showed the main characteristics of “upstream restoration, downstream moderation, structural optimization, and central upward trend”. What is the NDRC's overall forecast for price trends in the second half of the year and for the whole year? What key initiatives will be launched?

Jiang Yi:

Prices are closely related to the operation of the economy and people's lives, and attention is being paid to all aspects. Thanks to the concerted efforts of various parties to actively expand domestic demand, regulate production capacity and standardize price order, etc., and the transmission influence of international commodity prices, China's overall price level showed a continuous upward trend in the first half of this year. Consumer prices (CPI) rose an average of 1% year on year and remained in a moderate upward range of 1% or more for five consecutive months; excluding food and energy, the core CPI rose 1.2% year on year; industrial producer ex-factory prices (PPI) rose 1.5% year on year. Since breaking out of the downward range in March, it has been rising continuously for four months. Tour prices Both have improved. The current round of price recovery has had a positive impact on the increase in corporate profits, the increase in fiscal revenue, and the increase in residents' employment income, etc., and has also effectively promoted the smooth flow of the national economic cycle.

Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the accelerated development of emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, the further strengthening of production capacity and output regulation, the gradual optimization of market competition order, and the continued release of consumer demand for services will provide good support for price recovery. At the same time, summer grain production reached a new high, the meat and egg production capacity base was stable, fruit and vegetable production remained stable, and the overall supply of important livelihood commodities was abundant. Overall, prices are expected to keep running smoothly in the second half of the year.

In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will work with relevant departments to implement more active and promising macroeconomic policies in accordance with the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, focusing on stabilizing employment, stabilizing enterprises, stabilizing markets, and stabilizing expectations, and enhancing endogenous motivation for economic development and price recovery. At the same time, pay close attention to market price fluctuations for important livelihood commodities, energy, etc., and continue to do a good job of securing supply and price stability to ensure the overall stability of market supply and the smooth operation of prices, and effectively secure the bottom line of people's livelihood.

Jiang Yi:

This concludes today's press conference, thank you all.

This article was selected from “China Net”, editor of Zhitong Finance: Xu Wenqiang.