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E-mail China.org.cn, April 19, 2024
Chen Wenjun:
The last two questions, please.
Zhonghongwang.com:
We have learned that Fujian province has introduced a series of measures in the first quarter, including a focus on making a stable and good start to the year. Could you briefly introduce the progress Fujian has made in expanding investment and stabilizing growth this year? Thank you.
Zhao Long:
I'd like to ask Mr. Meng to answer this question.
Meng Qian:
Thank you for your question. As you're all aware, in the first two months of this year, China's economy has kept a good momentum of steady growth. The situation in Fujian is the same as the whole country. According to the data, our situation is even more optimistic. The first quarter has just ended, and the data is still being compiled and has not yet been released. However, we can feel the warmth of Fujian's economic spring from the roaring machinery, busy traffic and bustling crowds. Here is a set of objective figures to share with you. In the first quarter, the province's industrial electricity consumption increased by 13% year on year, highway traffic increased by 9%, offline consumption increased by 9.1%, hotel occupancy increased by 9.5% and tourist flow in scenic areas increased by 18.2%. These are all double-digit or close to double-digit growth rates, reflecting the basic situation of industries such as manufacturing, transportation, commerce and tourism. I believe that those of you who are familiar with the economic work will sense the confidence of Fujian's economy.
Of course, the data also reveals some problems, primarily in certain traditional industries that are still facing difficulties, and the transformation of the real estate industry has not been completed. These are "growing pains," indicating that our shift from old to new growth drivers is still a work in progress.
Next, we will continue to adhere to the general tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting stability through progress, and establishing the new before abolishing the old. We will give full play to Fujian's advantages in areas such as digital technology, marine, ecology, private economy, reform and opening-up, and overseas Chinese. We will strive to implement major strategies such as the innovation-driven development strategy , the strategy of building Fujian into a strong province for private economy in the new era, and the strategy of promoting regional coordinated development. Furthermore, we will accelerate the construction of a demonstration zone for cross-Strait integrated development and achieve high-quality development across the entire province. Specifically, we will address three aspects:
First, we will pursue development for the people and ensure smooth economic circulation . The purpose of economic development is to better meet people's aspirations for a better life . Investment and consumption serve as a means to drive economic growth, but their fundamental purpose is to meet people's livelihood needs. With investment, people can travel on faster high-speed trains and go to better hospitals for medical treatment. With consumption, people are able to afford the latest Huawei smartphone and enjoy better travel services. The key now is to ensure smooth economic circulation by implementing policies that synergize efforts in stabilizing employment, increasing income, expanding investment, promoting consumption and improving people's livelihoods. In that way, we will be able to overcome bottlenecks in economic operations, address pain points in business development, and resolve issues that people are concerned about.
Second, we will focus on innovation-driven development and develop new quality productive forces. We are working on developing the digital economy, marine economy, green economy and cultural tourism economy, continuously creating new growth drivers and development advantages. In this regard, private enterprises in Fujian have great potential. We have a private enterprise called Huafeng (Huafeng Textile Group). They built a high-level team from all over the world and developed new technology, producing a sportswear garment from a dozen or so mineral water bottles. The company has been favored by many international brands. Our goal is to help enterprises like these grow and thrive.
Third, we will deepen reforms and enhance the driving forces for development. Mr. Zhao offered a detailed introduction to our measures to comprehensively deepen reforms and expand openness. I'll now elaborate on two specific initiatives. One is further enhancing efforts to create a superior business environment this year. The key is to allow business entities to fully exert their roles and functions and let them fully engage in the entire process of formulating policies, resolving issues, and evaluating policies, thereby enhancing the sense of gain among enterprises. The other is to further promote the development of the core region of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. On the ninth day of the first lunar month, which falls on Feb. 18 this year, we initiated the construction of an ethylene project in Gulei, Zhangzhou, a collaboration between China and Saudi Arabia with a total investment of 44.8 billion yuan, making it the largest foreign-invested project in Fujian to date. This is just a glimpse of the achievements made in building the core region of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. I believe that through our collective efforts, Fujian's economy will continue to improve.
Thank you all!
