Carbon Neutrality Focus | National Development and Reform Commission: Zero-carbon park construction is not about putting on a hat or hanging a sign; avoid blind decision-making and trying to do too much at once

 

8 On August 1, the National Development and Reform Commission held a press conference to interpret the current economic situation and economic work. Jiang Yi, Director of the Policy Research Office and Spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission, introduced at the meeting that the construction of zero-carbon parks is not about putting on a hat or hanging a sign; it is a systematic project and long-term work with strong innovation and high challenges; it is not about creating a "policy preferential area," but about building a "green transformation highland". Jiang Yi introduced that a zero-carbon park refers to a park where, through planning, design, technology, and management, the carbon dioxide emissions generated from production and life within the park are reduced to "near zero" levels, and it has the conditions to further achieve "zero emissions." Currently, China's new energy technologies, energy-saving and emission-reduction technologies, and pollution control technologies have gradually reached the international advanced level. Based on this, the proposal to build zero-carbon parks marks that China's green transformation process is moving from single-point innovation to systematic innovation and standard innovation. This work has five meanings, or five areas to explore. First, accelerate the green transformation of energy. Comprehensively adopt methods such as direct supply of green electricity, demand-side management, scientific configuration of energy storage and other regulatory resources, and utilization of clean and low-carbon thermal energy resources to explore new paths for improving the proportion of new energy consumption. Second, guide the deep decarbonization of industries. Explore the "green-to-green" model of manufacturing green products with green energy, support energy-saving and carbon-reduction transformation and the updating of energy-using equipment, and encourage enterprises to build factories with ultimate energy efficiency and zero-carbon factories. Third, promote regional coordinated development. Guide the orderly transfer and aggregation of high-energy-consuming industries to parks with sustainable resources, guaranteed energy, and environmental capacity, and promote the formation of reasonable division of labor and a virtuous cycle among regions. Fourth, adapt to green trade rules. Zero-carbon parks have traceable energy supply systems and full-process carbon footprint management systems, which can help enterprises accurately locate key links, target process optimization and equipment improvement, significantly reduce product "carbon footprints," and enhance "green competitiveness". Fifth, create zero-carbon demonstration models. Through the exploration and practice of "zero-carbon cells" at the park level, accumulate experience, explore paths, and create models for the comprehensive construction of a "zero-carbon society" in the carbon neutrality stage. Next, the National Development and Reform Commission will, based on the recommendations from local areas, comprehensively consider factors such as industrial representation, comprehensive demonstration, and carbon emission reduction potential to determine the list of the first batch of national-level zero-carbon park construction projects, and provide positive support in terms of policy pilot programs, institutional and mechanism innovation, and major project construction. At the same time, Jiang Yi emphasized that the construction of zero-carbon parks is not about putting on a hat or hanging a sign; it is a systematic project and long-term work with strong innovation and high challenges; it is not about creating a "policy preferential area," but about building a "green transformation highland". "Per unit energy consumption carbon emissions" is the core indicator for zero-carbon parks. Five guiding indicators are also set, namely, the proportion of clean energy consumption, the per unit energy consumption of products of park enterprises, the comprehensive utilization rate of industrial solid waste, the comprehensive utilization rate of waste heat, waste cold, and waste pressure, and the reuse rate of industrial water. Each indicator has clear and strict requirements and cannot be easily achieved. Local governments, parks, and enterprises should proceed from their own realities, based on their own resource endowments, industrial characteristics, and development stages, to scientifically determine the path and methods for the construction of zero-carbon parks, ensuring that technical solutions are operable, engineering projects can be implemented, innovative measures can be implemented, and that there is a guarantee of element funds, It is necessary to avoid the pitfalls of blind decision-making, trying to do too much at once, and rushing into things.

 

 

 

The National Development and Reform Commission held a press conference to interpret the current economic situation and economic work.

On the morning of August 1, the National Development and Reform Commission held a press conference to interpret the current economic situation and economic work. Jiang Yi, Director of the Policy Research Office and Spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission, presided over the press conference, and Zhou Chen, Director of the Comprehensive Department of National Economy, and Wang Renfei, Director of the Comprehensive Department of System Reform, attended the press conference. The press conference introduced the construction of "two major projects" and the allocation of central budgetary investment funds, the implementation of "two new" policies, the reduction of the cost of logistics across society, the basic medical and health engineering, "Belt and Road" trade cooperation, etc., and answered reporters' questions on the economic situation in the first half of the year and macroeconomic control policies in the second half of the year, strengthening the domestic cycle, building a national unified large market, deepening reforms, boosting consumption, the "AI+" action, building a national unified power market system, governing low-price and disorderly competition, the normalized communication and exchange mechanism for private enterprises, the construction of zero-carbon parks, and energy supply to meet peak demand and summer use.

Situation Introduction

 

Jiang Yi, Director of the Policy Research Office and Spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission: Good morning, everyone! Welcome to the National Development and Reform Commission press conference! I am Jiang Yi, Director of the Policy Research Office and Spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission. Also attending today's press conference are Mr. Zhou Chen, Director of the Comprehensive Department of National Economy, and Mr. Wang Renfei, Director of the Comprehensive Department of System Reform. On July 31, the National Development and Reform Commission held a briefing on the development and reform situation in the first half of the year, thoroughly implementing the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on the economic situation in the first half of the year and the economic work in the second half of the year, as well as the various requirements for development and reform work. Today, we are holding a press conference to focus on interpreting the current economic situation and economic work and to answer questions that everyone is concerned about. I will first report on five aspects of the situation, and then, together with my colleagues, answer questions that everyone is concerned about.

 

First, all 800 trillion yuan of this year's "two major projects" construction project list has been allocated, and 735 billion yuan of central budgetary investment has been basically allocated. Next, we will, together with various departments and local governments, strengthen coordination and resource guarantees, accelerate the progress of project construction, and promote the construction of "two major projects" with high quality. At the same time, we will establish and improve a project life-cycle management mechanism, strengthen regular scheduling and mid-term and post-event supervision, and ensure that funds are used effectively.

 

Second, this year's third batch of 69 billion yuan of ultra-long-term special government bonds supporting the replacement of old consumer goods with new ones has been allocated, and the fourth batch of 69 billion yuan will be allocated as planned in October, at which time the annual allocation plan of 300 billion yuan will be completed. Next, we will, together with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, and other departments, urge local governments to fulfill their responsibilities in matching funds and refine their plans for the use of funds to ensure that funds are used in an orderly and balanced manner until the end of the year. At the same time, we will further strengthen the supervision of product quality and prices, strictly preventing risks such as "price increases before subsidies" and fraudulent subsidies, and ensuring the standardized implementation of policies.

 

Third, the work of reducing the cost of logistics across society has achieved phased results. In the first half of the year, the ratio of total social logistics costs to GDP decreased to 14%, down 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points respectively from the first quarter and the same period last year, achieving the lowest level since statistics were available, saving more than 130 billion yuan in social logistics costs.

 

Fourth, the strengthening of the medical and health infrastructure project has been launched and implemented, accelerating the achievement of "solving common illnesses in cities and counties, and daily illnesses at the grassroots level." First, enhance the diagnostic and treatment capabilities of county-level medical institutions. We will allocate various central funds to support approximately 600 county-level integrated medical consortia in improving their basic conditions and equipping them with over 11,000 pieces (sets) of medical equipment. Second, promote the "township examination, county-level diagnosis, mutual recognition of results" model. We will promote the construction of county-level resource sharing centers in five areas: medical imaging, medical testing, electrocardiogram diagnosis, disinfection and supply, and central pharmacies, and carry out "distributed examination, centralized diagnosis" to effectively improve the medical experience of the masses. Third, guide the sinking of high-quality medical resources. We will promote the establishment of 125 national regional medical centers at the grassroots level, build close-knit medical consortia and specialty alliances. A cumulative total of 1.1 million remote medical services have been provided, and approximately 3 million patients at the grassroots level have received services through mobile medical services and counterpart support.

 

Fifth, China's trade cooperation with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative has maintained rapid growth. In the first half of the year, China's imports and exports with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 11.29 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.7%, 1.8 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate, accounting for 51.8% of the total import and export value; exports reached 6.56 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.8%, 3.1 percentage points higher than the overall export growth rate. Under the severe and complex external situation, China and the participating countries have strengthened strategic alignment and deepened practical cooperation, effectively maintaining the multilateral trading system and the stability and smooth flow of global industrial and supply chains.

 

I will report these first, and then we will move on to the Q&A session. Please state your affiliation before asking your question.

Q&A

CCTV News reporter: How does the National Development and Reform Commission view the macroeconomic operation in the first half of 2025? In the face of the relatively complex internal and external situations in the first half of this year, how do you view this economic growth? What will be the focus or new measures of macroeconomic regulation policies in the second half of the year?

Zhou Chen

 

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Zhou Chen, Director of the Department of Comprehensive Macroeconomic Studies, National Development and Reform Commission Since the beginning of this year, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, we have actively responded to the rapidly changing external environment, delivered a policy "combination punch", and the comprehensive set of incremental policies launched on September 26 last year and the measures to stabilize employment and the economy introduced this year have continued to take effect. In the first half of the year, China's economy has made steady progress and performed better than expected while withstanding external pressure and digesting accumulated risks. High-quality development has achieved new results, and the "gold content" of development has continuously improved. There are three prominent characteristics: 。 First, major macroeconomic indicators performed well. In the first half of the year, the GDP grew by 5.3% year-on-year, 0.3 percentage points higher than the same period last year and the whole year, indicating that China's economy has withstood external pressure and significantly exceeded the market's general expectations at the beginning of the year. Recently, many international institutions have raised their forecasts for China's economic growth this year. The International Monetary Fund raised its forecast by 0.8 percentage points a few days ago, showing confidence in the prospects for China's economic development. In July, the production and business activity expectation index was 52.6%, remaining above the prosperity line, indicating that the market confidence of manufacturing enterprises is relatively stable and optimistic. Employment, prices, and residents' income remained generally stable. In the first half of the year, the national average urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.2%, down 0.1 percentage points from the first quarter, and 6.95 million new urban jobs were added, completing 58% of the annual target, faster than the time schedule. Second, the economic operation demonstrated strong resilience. In the first half of the year, domestic demand contributed 68.8% to economic growth, continuing to play a leading role in growth. Foreign trade imports and exports showed strong resilience in the face of storms and waves. Many enterprises have taken the initiative to explore new markets, and China's import and export volume has reached the 20 trillion yuan mark, with exports growing by 7.2%. Industries continue to optimize and upgrade, with the "ballast stone" role of equipment manufacturing continuing to play out, and the added value of equipment manufacturing increasing by 10.2%; modern service industries are developing rapidly, with information transmission, software and information technology services growing by 11.1%. Third, new driving forces are developing and growing rapidly. Innovative achievements such as open-source models of artificial intelligence, domestically produced central processing units (CPUs), and innovative drugs are emerging continuously. Emerging industries such as intelligent unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturing, intelligent in-vehicle device manufacturing, and integrated circuit manufacturing are thriving, and many enterprises are running on the innovation track, demonstrating strong creativity and contributing to the accelerated development of new productive forces. In the first half of the year, the added value of high-tech manufacturing increased by 9.5%, 3.1 percentage points faster than the overall growth of above-scale industries. Overall, the economic performance since the beginning of this year has been hard-won, laying a good foundation for achieving the goals and tasks of economic and social development for the whole year, and further enhancing our confidence.

 

Regarding the next steps in economic work, the Central Political Bureau meeting held on July 30 has made comprehensive arrangements. The National Development and Reform Commission will resolutely implement these arrangements, strive to achieve the expected goals and tasks of economic and social development for the whole year and the various tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan, and lay the foundation for a good start to the 15th Five-Year Plan. On the one hand, we will continue to exert efforts and implement various policy measures in a timely manner, fully unleashing the policy effects, unswervingly implementing the strategy of expanding domestic demand, unswervingly promoting high-level self-reliance in science and technology, deepening reform and opening up, and strengthening the construction of a unified national market, especially continuing to promote the introduction and implementation of measures to stabilize employment and the economy, maintaining policy continuity and stability, enhancing flexibility and predictability, transforming external pressure into internal driving force, and stabilizing the overall economic situation. On the other hand, we will strengthen economic monitoring, forecasting, and early warning, conduct policy pre-research and reserves on a regular basis, continuously improve the policy toolbox for stabilizing employment and expanding domestic demand, and introduce them in a timely manner as needed, coordinating the policy and work connections between this year and next year, focusing on stabilizing employment, enterprises, markets, and expectations, and striving to achieve a reasonable rebound in price levels, stable overall social employment, and an optimized combination of economic growth.

 

Every day Economic News reporter: On July 31, the State Council executive meeting studied and deliberated on the "Opinions on Deepening the Implementation of the "Artificial Intelligence +" Action." There is great public interest in this. Can you introduce the background of the document and the key considerations for the work?

Jiang Yi

 

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Jiang Yi, Director of the Policy Research Office and Spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission: In recent years, with the continuous expansion of artificial intelligence applications, many cases have emerged in various industries that use artificial intelligence to improve efficiency, optimize experience, and reshape scenarios. At the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which opened on July 26, Director Zheng Zhage released the case collection "China's Wisdom, Benefiting the World (2025)", which includes some valuable achievements of China's promotion of international cooperation in artificial intelligence. I would also like to introduce a few examples here. For example, in the Myanmar earthquake rescue, a Chinese-Myanmar-English translation system developed in 7 hours opened up a lifeline for rescue; in hospitals in Singapore, AI tumor screening reduces the risk of misdiagnosis of small lesions and improves inspection efficiency; on railways in South Africa, AI light-vision linkage inspectors effectively protect rail safety and improve dispatching efficiency; and on power grids in Brazil, a new combination of AI image recognition and unmanned inspection drones effectively overcomes complex conditions such as rainforests, grasslands, and mountains, significantly improving inspection efficiency.

 

These cases show that as artificial intelligence technology accelerates its iteration and evolution, and after initial market testing, AI has demonstrated the ability to solve complex problems in some real-world scenarios, and its role in reducing industrial costs and increasing efficiency, and improving total factor productivity is becoming increasingly prominent. At the same time, there is a strong demand for applications from all sectors of society, and it is in a critical window period for application implementation. In recent years, new intelligent products and scenarios have emerged one after another, new generations of intelligent terminals such as intelligent connected vehicles, smart wearables, and smart homes are constantly being updated, and intelligent robots are gradually entering factories and homes, and various intelligent entities are playing an important role in various fields of production and life. In order to accelerate the promotion of artificial intelligence to better empower various industries and enter thousands of households, based on in-depth research and extensive investigations, we have jointly drafted the "Opinions on Deeply Implementing the "Artificial Intelligence +" Action" with relevant departments, which was approved by the State Council executive meeting yesterday.

 

Next, the National Development and Reform Commission will implement the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and work with relevant parties to ensure that the market has direction and confidence, focusing on practicality and effectiveness, and deeply implementing the "Artificial Intelligence +" action. On the one hand, Vigorously promote the large-scale commercial application of artificial intelligence, give full play to China's advantages in its complete industrial system, large market size, and abundant application scenarios, promote the rapid popularization and deep integration of artificial intelligence in various fields of economic and social development, and form a virtuous cycle of innovation driving application and application promoting innovation. On the other hand, Focus on optimizing the artificial intelligence innovation ecosystem, increase policy support, strengthen the foundation in computing power, algorithms, data, open source, talent, and security, and accelerate the formation of a dynamic, agile, and multi-party collaborative artificial intelligence governance framework to better support technological implementation and industrial development and expansion.

 

Xinhua News Agency reporter: Not long ago, the sixth meeting of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs made a comprehensive deployment for the in-depth advancement of the construction of a nationwide unified large market. Please introduce the overall progress of the construction of a nationwide unified large market and how the National Development and Reform Commission will implement the deployment of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs next?

Wang Renfei

 

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Wang Renfei, Director of the Comprehensive Department of System Reform, National Development and Reform Commission: Building a nationwide unified large market is a major decision made by the CPC Central Committee. In recent years, all relevant parties have earnestly implemented the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Accelerating the Construction of a Nationwide Unified Large Market" and supporting measures, achieving positive results. In summary, there are three main aspects. First, The "four pillars and eight pillars" have been basically established, the basic market institutions have been gradually improved, the basic market infrastructure has been continuously improved, and the flow of factors has become more smooth. Second, Social consensus has significantly increased, and the concept of fair competition has become deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. From central departments to local governments at all levels, from enterprises to all sectors of society, the initiative and enthusiasm of all parties in integrating into and serving the nationwide unified large market have significantly improved. Third, The construction effects are continuously manifested, and the role of the unified large market in gathering resources, promoting growth, stimulating innovation, optimizing division of labor, and promoting competition is increasingly enhanced. Just now, Director Jiang introduced that in the first half of this year, the ratio of total social logistics costs to GDP decreased by 0.2 percentage points year-on-year. Here are two more sets of data to share with you. From January to April this year, the proportion of inter-provincial trade sales in total sales revenue nationwide was 40.4%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points year-on-year; the second is that in the first half of this year, the national cross-provincial transaction electricity increased by 18.2% year-on-year, and the proportion of market-oriented transaction electricity increased by 2.6 percentage points year-on-year. These data reflect from some aspects that our market transaction costs are decreasing, and factor resources are being optimized and allocated on a larger scale.

 

At the same time, we also clearly realize that the achievements of the construction of a nationwide unified large market still have a gap compared with the requirements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and the expectations of all parties, and the task is still arduous. Next, the National Development and Reform Commission will earnestly implement the spirit of the sixth meeting of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, focusing on the basic requirements of "five unifications and one opening up", focusing on key difficulties and concentrating on tackling them, and with more powerful and effective measures, implement the various deployments for the in-depth advancement of the construction of a nationwide unified large market.

 

First, we will focus on overall advancement. The National Development and Reform Commission will play a good role as the leading department, study and formulate an action plan for the in-depth advancement of the construction of a nationwide unified large market, coordinate all aspects, and steadily advance the implementation of key tasks.

 

Second, we will focus on institutional construction. The key is to achieve the unification of systems such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, social credit, and quality standards. Further standardize the scale of government behavior, formulate a "List of Matters to Prevent Behavior that Obstructs the Unified Market and Fair Competition." Promote the improvement of a fiscal and taxation system, statistical accounting system, and assessment and evaluation system conducive to market unification.

 

Third, we will focus on key areas. Deepen the reform of factor market-oriented allocation, improve the nationwide unified electricity market system, cultivate a nationwide integrated data market, and jointly promote the construction of a unified and open transportation market.

 

Fourth, we will focus on problem rectification. Govern enterprise disorderly competition in accordance with laws and regulations, promote capacity governance in key industries, standardize bidding and tendering, strengthen the fairness review of bidding results, standardize local investment promotion behavior, strengthen the disclosure of investment promotion information, and earnestly carry out actions to clean up and rectify market access barriers. It should be particularly emphasized here that we will establish and improve a normalized mechanism for collecting, verifying, interviewing, and reporting problems, and will report on typical negative cases, and those with serious nature will be transferred to relevant parties for serious accountability.

 

CCTV Finance reporter: We have noticed that the National Development and Reform Commission recently issued the "Notice on Carrying Out the Construction of Zero-Carbon Parks." How should we accurately understand the concept of "zero-carbon park"? What aspects will be supported next?

Jiang Yi

 

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Jiang Yi, Director of the Policy Research Office and Spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission: Thank you for your attention to this work on the construction of zero-carbon parks. A zero-carbon park refers to a park where, through planning, design, technology, and management, the carbon dioxide emissions generated by production and life within the park are reduced to a level "close to zero," and it has the conditions to further achieve "zero emissions." Currently, China's new energy technologies, energy-saving and emission-reduction technologies, and pollution control technologies have gradually reached the international advanced level. Based on this, the proposal to build zero-carbon parks marks that China's green transformation process is moving from single-point innovation to systematic innovation and standard innovation. I understand that this work has five meanings, or five aspects to explore. First, accelerate the green transformation of energy. Comprehensively adopt methods such as direct supply of green electricity, demand-side management, scientific configuration of energy storage and other regulatory resources, and utilization of clean and low-carbon thermal energy resources to explore new paths for improving the proportion of new energy consumption. Second, guide the deep decarbonization of industries. Explore the "green-to-green" model of manufacturing green products with green energy, support energy-saving and carbon-reduction transformation and the updating of energy-using equipment, and encourage enterprises to build factories with ultimate energy efficiency and zero-carbon factories. Third, promote regional coordinated development. Guide the orderly transfer and aggregation of high-energy-consuming industries to parks with sustainable resources, guaranteed energy, and environmental capacity, and promote the formation of reasonable division of labor and a virtuous cycle among regions. Fourth, adapt to green trade rules. Zero-carbon parks have traceable energy supply systems and full-process carbon footprint management systems, which can help enterprises accurately locate key links, target process optimization and equipment improvement, significantly reduce product "carbon footprints," and enhance "green competitiveness". Fifth, create zero-carbon demonstration models. Through the exploration and practice of "zero-carbon cells" at the park level, accumulate experience, explore paths, and create models for the comprehensive construction of a "zero-carbon society" in the carbon neutrality stage.

 

Next, we will determine the list of the first batch of national-level zero-carbon park construction projects based on local recommendations, taking into account factors such as industrial representativeness, comprehensive demonstration, and carbon emission reduction potential, and provide positive support in terms of policy pilot programs, institutional and mechanism innovation, and major project construction. I would like to emphasize here that the construction of zero-carbon parks is not about putting on hats or hanging signs; it is a systematic project and long-term work with strong innovation and high challenges; it is not about creating a "policy preferential area," but about building a "green transformation highland". The Notice proposes "unit energy consumption carbon emissions" as the core indicator for zero-carbon parks and sets five guiding indicators: the proportion of clean energy consumption, unit energy consumption of products of park enterprises, comprehensive utilization rate of industrial solid waste, comprehensive utilization rate of waste heat, waste cold and waste pressure, and the reuse rate of industrial water. Each indicator has clear and strict requirements and cannot be easily achieved. Local governments, parks, and enterprises should proceed from their own realities and scientifically determine the path and methods for the construction of zero-carbon parks based on their own resource endowments, industrial characteristics, and development stages. They must ensure that technical solutions are feasible, engineering projects can be implemented, innovative measures can be implemented, and that there are sufficient resources and funding. Blind decision-making, attempting to do too much, and rushing into projects must be avoided.

 

Southern Metropolis Daily reporter: Consumption data showed a significant rebound in the first half of this year. Is this directly related to the special action to boost consumption launched at the beginning of the year? How will the National Development and Reform Commission promote the healthy and sustainable development of consumption in the second half of the year?

Zhou Chen

 

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Zhou Chen, Director of the Department of Comprehensive Macroeconomic Studies, National Development and Reform Commission Consumption is the ultimate demand, representing the people's yearning for a better life. In accordance with the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission, together with various regions and departments, has coordinated efforts to improve people's livelihood and promote consumption, promoting the introduction and implementation of special actions to boost consumption, and insisting on expanding consumption demand in the process of guaranteeing and improving people's livelihood, forming a powerful "combination punch" to expand consumption. Consumption in the first half of the year has three main characteristics ：

 

First, accelerated growth. Let me introduce a set of data. In the first half of this year, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 5%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the first quarter and 1.3 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Looking at a second set of data, the contribution rate of final consumption to economic growth in the first half of the year reached 52%, of which the contribution rate in the second quarter was 52.3%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to the first quarter and 4.4 percentage points compared to the same period last year. These two sets of data show that the fundamental role of consumption in economic development is further highlighted.

 

Second, more highlights. Consumption of key commodities has warmed up. This year's trade-in program has driven commodity sales exceeding 1.7 trillion yuan. In the first half of the year, retail sales of above-scale household appliances and communication equipment increased by 30.7% and 24.1% year-on-year, respectively, and sales of new energy vehicles increased by 40.3% year-on-year. Various policies to expand domestic demand are being implemented and taking effect. Service consumption continues to boom. At the beginning of the year, "Ne Zha" and humanoid robots became popular, and the "holiday economy" also boosted research and study tours and national style clothing.

 

Third, a better environment. Various departments have introduced a number of major policies and held various promotional activities around the implementation of the special action to boost consumption. Various localities are also continuing to increase their efforts, holding characteristic cultural tourism and sports activities such as football, basketball, and water sports. Further implementing the deployment of the State Council's executive meeting, focusing on the issues exposed in the "3.15" gala, and strengthening the supervision of food safety and consumer quality safety, the consumer market environment continues to improve.

 

We understand that the sustained and healthy development of consumption is the result of a two-way rush between supply and demand, both in terms of steadily enhancing residents' consumption capacity and willingness, and in terms of continuously leading and creating new demands with high-quality supply. Next, the National Development and Reform Commission will continue to do a good job in expanding consumption with greater efforts, more practical measures, and better services. First, we will focus on promoting the enhancement of consumption capacity, so that people dare to consume. We will accelerate the implementation of measures to stabilize employment, stabilize the economy, and promote high-quality development, promote a steady increase in residents' income, and at the same time solve the urgent, difficult, and worrying problems of the masses. Second, we will cultivate new growth points for service consumption, so that people can consume. We will implement the deployment of the "Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption," focusing on service consumption such as culture, tourism, sports, and events, as well as the service industries such as elderly care, medical care, and childcare, and guide local governments to reduce consumption restrictions in an orderly manner. Third, we will continue to optimize consumption supply, so that people are willing to consume. We will actively cultivate national "trendy products," vigorously develop "artificial intelligence +" consumption, and increase efforts to innovate application scenarios. We will improve charging piles and the commercial and logistics system, and other consumer infrastructure, and further promote a virtuous cycle of consumption and investment.

 

China Development and Reform News reporter: Reform is a key measure to solve problems in development. The Central Political Bureau meeting emphasized the need to unswervingly deepen reforms. How will the National Development and Reform Commission better promote the deep integration and efficient linkage of reform and development?

Wang Renfei

 

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Wang Renfei, Director of the Comprehensive Department of System Reform, National Development and Reform Commission: Thank you to the reporter from the Development and Reform News for the question. We often say that development presents problems, and reform provides solutions. To promote high-quality development and build a new development pattern, we must further comprehensively deepen reforms, seek impetus from reforms, and activate vitality with reforms. To better promote the deep integration and efficient linkage of reform and development, we will accelerate the implementation of some landmark reform measures in the next step.

 

First, deepen reforms to expand domestic demand and stabilize the economy. We will tap potential to boost consumption, improve the policy system for promoting consumption, and promote the introduction and implementation of measures to promote service consumption, the first-mover economy, and digital consumption, releasing consumption potential. We will focus on expanding effective investment, improve the institutional mechanism for government investment to effectively drive social investment, and amplify the multiplier effect of investment. At the same time, we will use deepening reforms to shape and guide expectations, stimulate the vitality of market entities, enhance the core functions of state-owned enterprises, and improve their core competitiveness. We will study policy measures to promote the development of private investment, summarize the experience of introducing private capital into the nuclear power sector, increase the promotion of private capital in the fields of transportation, energy, and water conservancy, and promote the development and growth of the private economy.

 

Second, deepen reforms to solve prominent contradictions in economic operation. Currently, some industries and sectors are experiencing involution, disorderly competition, and market disorder. Next, we need to better combine the roles of the effective market and the capable government, giving full play to the advantages of both. We will unify the standards of government behavior, further clarify the specific behaviors encouraged and prohibited in attracting investment, govern and prevent various behaviors and practices that hinder a unified market and fair competition, rectify disorderly competition among enterprises in accordance with the law and regulations, guide enterprises to improve product quality and achieve value for money, and promote the continuous optimization of market competition order.

 

Third, deepen reforms to cultivate and develop new driving forces. We will optimize the market access environment for new formats and fields, accelerate the formulation of a batch of special measures to relax market access, introduce policies and measures to cultivate and open up new scenarios, launch a batch of high-value application scenarios that are demonstrative, leading, and driving, and use scenario innovation to drive technological innovation and industrial innovation. We will promote innovative allocation of production factors, promote pilot reforms in the marketization of factor allocation, and deeply explore the implementation path for the confirmation of rights and participation in the distribution of new factors such as data, promoting the smooth flow and efficient allocation of various production factors.

 

Elephant News reporter: China's electricity load has hit record highs this summer, and the China Meteorological Administration predicts that temperatures in most parts of the country will be close to or higher than normal in the first and middle ten days of August. Is there a guarantee that the power supply will withstand the high-temperature challenge this year?

Jiang Yi

 

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Jiang Yi, Director of the Policy Research Office and Spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission: There is a Chinese proverb that says, "The Great Heat and the Lesser Heat, steaming above and boiling below." Recently, temperatures have soared across the country, with air conditioners running around the clock in every household, and energy supply work has entered a critical period of "peak summer." This year, the national peak electricity load has hit a record high four times, reaching 1.508 billion kilowatts, an increase of 57 million kilowatts compared to last year's peak, equivalent to the electricity load of Fujian Province.

 

In the face of rapidly rising electricity demand, the National Development and Reform Commission has, in conjunction with local governments and key enterprises, made early plans and implemented a series of effective measures to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring a stable energy and power supply. First, dynamic and precise dispatching. Accurately analyze and assess the supply and demand trends, adhere to a bottom-line and limit thinking, comprehensively consider supply security, consumption promotion, and safe operation of units, leverage the role of coal-fired power plants as a safety net, strengthen the use of pumped hydro storage and new energy storage, and promote the synergy of various power sources such as "water, fire, wind, light, and storage". Second, cross-regional coordination and mutual assistance. Nationwide cross-regional power transmission reached a record high of 148 million kilowatts. Organize grid companies to provide mutual assistance across operating areas, and during peak hours, provide 3.2 million kilowatts of power support between the two grids through mutual assistance via the Fujian-Guangdong DC line and reverse transmission via the Jiangcheng DC line. Third, efficient disaster response. Closely monitor the trends of disastrous weather, deploy repair personnel and resources in advance, promptly repair power facilities, and effectively respond to natural disasters such as Typhoon Danas, the major flood disaster in southeastern Guizhou, the major rainstorm in Enshi, Hubei, and the continuous heavy rainfall in northern China. With the joint efforts of all parties, the national power supply is currently stable and orderly, and the electricity demand in various regions is well guaranteed.

 

Next, the National Development and Reform Commission will give full play to the role of the inter-ministerial coordination mechanism for the guarantee of coal, electricity, oil, gas, and transportation, mainly focusing on the following five aspects. First, ensuring supply at the source. Guide local governments to coordinate the production, transportation, and demand of coal-fired power generation and gas for power generation, ensuring a sufficient and stable supply of primary energy. Second, enhancing peak capacity. Continuously strengthen the operation and management of various conventional power sources, and coordinate the supporting role of new energy power generation and the backup role of thermal power. Third, strengthening mutual assistance between surplus and deficit areas. Actively carry out cross-provincial and cross-regional power dispatching through long-term power contracts, spot markets, and emergency dispatching. Fourth, optimizing demand-side management. Adhere to the principle of prioritizing demand response, supporting energy conservation and emission reduction, and ensuring orderly power use as a safety net. Comprehensively utilize time-of-use electricity pricing, demand response subsidies, and AI dispatching of virtual power plants to ensure the safe and stable operation of the power grid and the orderly supply of electricity. Fifth, strengthening emergency response. Keep a close watch on major natural disasters and emergencies, and immediately organize power companies to carry out efficient emergency response and power restoration work to effectively guarantee the energy needs of the people and key users. I believe that through these efforts, we can ensure a safe, continuous, and stable supply of energy and electricity nationwide.

 

Economic Reference News reporter: How will China further strengthen its domestic cycle in the current and future period?

Zhou Chen

 

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Zhou Chen, Director of the Department of Comprehensive Macroeconomic Studies, National Development and Reform Commission On May 15, the State Council held a work promotion meeting on strengthening the domestic cycle, which clearly pointed out that strengthening the domestic cycle is a strategic move to promote the steady and long-term development of China's economy. Currently, external shocks and uncertainties are increasing, and we must use the certainty of high-quality development to respond to the uncertainty of the rapidly changing external environment and vigorously promote both domestic and international dual circulation. We must focus on various aspects of work to ensure the implementation of various tasks, including stabilizing employment, tapping potential to boost consumption, expanding effective investment, supporting local governments in creating more development highlights, and coordinating development and security.

 

First, comprehensively expand domestic demand and enhance the resilience of the domestic cycle. The key is to promote the construction of "two major projects" (major infrastructure projects and major technological innovation projects) from top to bottom, combining software and hardware, and with high quality. Based on sustainability, we will study and steadily continue the policies of "two new projects" (new infrastructure and new urbanization). Promote the expansion and improvement of consumption. Combine boosting consumption with developing new productivity in a way that suits local conditions, support the development of new types of consumption, focus on people's livelihood, and open up innovative application scenarios. Actively expand effective investment. Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission will submit for approval the accelerated establishment and release of new policy-based financial instruments. Encourage private enterprises to participate more in the construction of national major projects. At the same time, the National Development and Reform Commission will also improve the price formation mechanism in areas such as transportation and energy to improve the return on investment.

 

Second, optimize the supply structure and improve the efficiency of the domestic cycle. Focusing on the in-depth advancement of the construction of a unified national market, better coordinate the effective market and the capable government, and better coordinate the optimization of incremental and the revitalization of stock. In terms of optimizing incremental, we will focus on promoting the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation. Promote breakthroughs in key core technologies, carry out industrial innovation projects in key areas such as humanoid robots and future energy, accelerate the implementation of the "AI+" action to expand application scenarios, and promote the high-quality development of the low-altitude economy. In terms of revitalizing stock, the key is to promote capacity management in key industries. In emerging fields, we will adhere to the principle of encouraging innovation and moderate competition, while resolutely preventing blind imitation, resolutely preventing a rush to follow suit, and preventing a rush to disperse. Traditional industries will pay more attention to innovation-driven transformation and upgrading, preventing low-level and homogeneous duplication, and breaking down "involutionary" competition. At the same time, adhering to the principle of moderate pre-emption and not excessive pre-emption, we will build and utilize infrastructure well and give full play to its multiple benefits.

 

Third, strengthen the construction of safety capabilities in key areas and enhance the reliability of the domestic cycle. Better coordinate domestic economic work and international economic and trade struggles to ensure the safe and smooth flow of the domestic economic cycle. This includes: comprehensively consolidating the foundation of food security, continuously strengthening the construction of high-standard farmland, implementing a new round of actions to increase grain production capacity by 100 billion kilograms, and implementing the seed industry revitalization action; vigorously improving the ability to ensure energy and resource security, accelerating the construction of a new energy system, and comprehensively promoting the construction of large-scale commodity storage and transportation bases. We must also make every effort to ensure the security of important industrial chains and supply chains, establish and improve a mechanism for assessing and responding to risks in industrial chains and supply chains, and strengthen the reserves of strategic materials.

 

The National Development and Reform Commission will, in accordance with the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, accelerate the resolution of bottlenecks and obstacles restricting the domestic cycle, effectively improve the accuracy and operability of policies, strengthen inter-departmental coordination, gather the synergy of policy implementation, and consolidate and expand the momentum of economic recovery and improvement.

 

The Paper reporter: The Sixth Meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Commission pointed out that it is necessary to govern low-price and disorderly competition among enterprises in accordance with laws and regulations. What policy measures will the National Development and Reform Commission take in this regard?

Jiang Yi

 

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Jiang Yi, Director of the Policy Research Office and Spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission: Competition is a basic characteristic of a market economy, and benign competition can, to a certain extent, bring consumers price concessions and consumer benefits; however, competition also has rules and bottom lines. If it goes too far or crosses the line, leading to low-price and disorderly competition, resulting in declining quality, reduced services, infringement and counterfeiting, it will harm the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, hinder the development of enterprises themselves, and cause the entire industry to fall into inefficient or even useless "involutionary" competition.

 

The Sixth Meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Commission made clear deployments on governing low-price and disorderly competition among enterprises in accordance with laws and regulations. The National Development and Reform Commission is deeply implementing the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council and is working with relevant parties to expedite relevant work. On the one hand, Accelerate the revision of the Price Law. The revised draft further clarifies the criteria for determining unfair pricing behaviors such as low-price dumping, focusing on rectifying actions that squeeze out competitors or monopolize the market, such as dumping below cost, and including services within the scope of low-price dumping regulations. The revised draft is currently soliciting public opinions, and all sectors of society are welcome to provide valuable feedback. On the other hand, Strengthen policy dissemination and reminders. Select industries and fields with prominent "involution-style" competition issues, conduct targeted cost investigations, ascertain production and operation conditions, and urge enterprises to consciously regulate their pricing behavior.

 

Next, we will adhere to the law and regulations, comprehensively rectify disorderly low-price competition, clarify regulatory measures, guide enterprises to conduct scientific and rational pricing, effectively regulate market price order, and promote orderly industry competition.

 

Securities Times reporter: Recently, there have been continuous new measures in the construction of the electricity market. Can you introduce the overall progress of the national electricity market construction?

Wang Renfei

 

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Wang Renfei, Director of the Comprehensive Department of System Reform, National Development and Reform Commission: Thank you to the reporter from the Securities Times for the question. Building a national unified electricity market is a key task in deepening electricity system reform and an important support for building a new power system. In recent years, significant progress has been made in electricity market construction. In 2024, China's market-based electricity trading volume reached 6.18 trillion kWh, accounting for about 63% of the total social electricity consumption. Since this year, a series of significant landmark achievements have been made in the construction of the national unified electricity market system.

 

First, the market mechanism for optimizing the allocation of electricity resources on a larger scale has achieved a breakthrough. First, recently, the State Grid and the Southern Grid have established a normalized trading mechanism across power grid operating areas, achieving "soft interconnection" of power transactions between the two grids based on the "hard interconnection" of inter-grid channels. Second, the Southern Regional Power Market has implemented continuous settlement operations, with power generation and consumption entities in five provinces and regions achieving "unified trading and simultaneous bidding." Third, inter-provincial spot markets are becoming more mature, with 26 provinces in the State Grid operating area achieving normalized surplus and deficit mutual assistance. In the first half of this year, China's inter-provincial electricity trading volume exceeded 670 billion kWh, which means that for every 4 kWh of electricity traded in the electricity market, 1 kWh is achieved through inter-provincial trading.

 

Second, the electricity spot market is about to achieve basic full coverage. The spot market helps to accurately discover prices, reflect and adjust supply and demand in real time. It is both a key link in the electricity market system and a difficulty. In recent years, we have overcome difficulties and made persistent efforts to promote the construction of the spot market. Currently, 25 provincial markets have carried out spot trading, of which 6 have been officially put into operation, 6 have achieved continuous settlement operation, and more than ten other provinces will also achieve continuous settlement operation this year. This has played an important role in ensuring power supply in relevant provinces recently.

 

Third, a unified basic rule system for the electricity market has been basically established. Currently, a "1+6" rule system has been formed, based on the basic rules for electricity market operation, with medium- and long-term, spot, and ancillary service trading rules as the main body, and market registration, metering and settlement, and information disclosure as support. In the future, it will continue to be enriched and improved according to market development.

 

In the future, we will continue to improve the national unified electricity market system, further unify rules, break down barriers, expand functions, and expand scale, providing stronger support for ensuring energy security, low-carbon transformation, and economic growth.

 

China Securities Journal reporter: We have noticed that since last year, Director Zheng Zhage of the National Development and Reform Commission has repeatedly chaired symposiums with private enterprises, and this has become a regular practice. I would like to ask, what specific problems has this normalized communication mechanism solved for private enterprises?

Jiang Yi

 

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Jiang Yi, Director of the Policy Research Office and Spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission: Thank you for your concern and attention to the work of the private economy. In June 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission established a normalized communication and exchange mechanism with private enterprises. In the past two years, Director Zheng Zhage has chaired 17 symposiums and engaged in face-to-face exchanges with nearly 80 private enterprises, the most recent one being last Wednesday. These symposiums have received widespread attention from all sectors of society. In my own experience, there are three characteristics. In terms of theme setting, It takes into account both the needs of macroeconomic regulation and the concerns of micro-entities. It includes both the views on the economic situation and macroeconomic policies that everyone is concerned about, and the specific situations and problems in specific industries and fields that private enterprises are concerned about. In terms of enterprise selection, Enterprises from the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, the east, central, and west regions, and large, medium, and small enterprises are all invited to attend the meeting, so as to cover as many industries and fields as possible, and to understand the overall situation and common problems from point to area. In terms of promoting work, It focuses on problem orientation and seeks practical results. For example, in the various stages of the legislation and implementation of the Private Economy Promotion Law, we carefully listened to and absorbed the opinions of enterprises, promoting the law to be more practical and useful, and effectively encouraging, supporting, and guiding the development of the private economy; for example, this year, we have repeatedly listened to the suggestions of enterprises on the "15th Five-Year Plan," and many insightful suggestions have been implemented in the planning and other work; for example, regarding the "involution-style" competition issue that enterprises are generally concerned about, we attach great importance to the problems and suggestions raised at the symposium, and are comprehensively adopting measures such as revising laws, issuing policies, improving standards, and strengthening industry self-discipline to accelerate the rectification of "involution-style" competition issues. There are many more examples like this. In short, the opinions and suggestions collected at the private enterprise symposiums are being transformed into concrete policy measures.

 

In addition to the 17 symposiums personally chaired by Director Zhage, in the past two years, all members of the Party group and various business departments of the National Development and Reform Commission have held more than 500 symposiums and exchanges with private enterprises through various means, and provincial, municipal, and county-level development and reform departments have held more than 20,000 symposiums with private enterprises. The comprehensive service platform for private economic development has received more than 2,400 problems and appeals since its launch more than half a year ago. On the one hand, we focus on helping to solve problems, We adhere to the law and regulations, are enthusiastic and attentive, focus on effectiveness, and implement ledger management and dedicated personnel to handle problems; On the other hand, we focus on policy formulation and implementation, Starting from common problems such as difficulties in financing and high financing costs and imperfect legal protection, we have promoted a series of measures from all aspects, such as establishing a coordination mechanism to support small and micro-enterprise financing and promoting the implementation of special actions to regulate law enforcement involving enterprises, etc.

 

Enterprises have the most direct and sensitive understanding of the market and are an important foundation for China's high-quality economic development. Regularly listening to the opinions and suggestions of enterprises on the economic situation and industry development, and grasping first-hand and real information, is an important basis for formulating plans and policies at the macro level. Next, we will adhere to and improve the normalized communication and exchange mechanism between government and enterprises, continue to listen deeply to the opinions and suggestions of private enterprises, adhere to a combination of point and area to solve practical difficulties and problems, and make persistent efforts to promote the healthy and high-quality development of the private economy.