NPC SPOKESPERSON: CHINA’S ECONOMY HAS STRONG RESILIENCE, SOLID FOUNDATION

China’s economy has a solid foundation, strong resilience, many advantages and large potential, a spokesperson for China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) said on Tuesday.

Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the third session of the 14th NPC, made the remarks when briefing the press on the NPC session scheduled to run from March 5 to 11.

In the past year, China arranged a package of incremental policies to effectively boost social confidence and achieved its growth target of around 5 percent, Lou said.

Noting that the country has a super-sized market and a complete industrial system to support its economic development, Lou said there is broad incremental space for demand, structural, and momentum upgrades, which will not only provide strong support for economic development, but also offer vast room for maneuver to deal with various risks and challenges.

“We are full of confidence in China’s economic prospects,” he said, adding that the NPC will continue to provide legal guarantees for promoting high-quality development and high-level opening up.

Hong Kong, Macao SARs important windows for opening up

When answering a question on the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Lou said the two regions have made great contributions to and played an irreplaceable role in the country’s reform and opening up process.

Noting that China’s central government has introduced a series of policy measures to fully support Hong Kong and Macao SARs in participating in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Lou said over the past five years, the area’s total economic output has exceeded more than 14 trillion yuan (about $1.9 trillion).

The flow of goods, capital and personnel among the three regions has become more convenient, he said, adding that the number of visitors to Hong Kong reached 45 million in 2024.

Regarding people’s livelihood, Hong Kong has taken multiple measures to increase housing and land supply to address residents’ housing problems, while the establishment of the Macao Medical Center of Peking Union Medical College Hospital has increased the supply of medical resources in Macao, Lou said.