Xi Jinping Emphasizes Achieving Economic Goals and Infrastructure Investment During Shanxi Province Inspection

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[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his inspection tour of Shanxi Province from the 20th to the 23rd, reaffirmed his determination to achieve economic goals despite COVID-19 by directing efforts toward poverty eradication, building a Xiaokang society, and expanding infrastructure investment.

On the 24th, the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper, People's Daily, dedicated its front page to photos and coverage of President Xi’s Shanxi inspection. The People's Daily introduced Xi’s visit by stating, "In economic work, we must maintain the momentum of seeking progress while ensuring stability (Wenzhong Qujin, 穩中求進), steadily complete the 'six stabilities' tasks, and realize the 'six protections' missions."

The six stabilities refer to employment, finance, trade, foreign investment, investment, and market expectations. Recently, alongside the six stability policies, the Chinese government has emphasized the need to realize protections in six areas: resident employment, basic livelihood, market entities, food and energy security, industrial chain stability, and grassroots organization operations. Amid growing economic anxiety due to an unprecedented -6.8% growth rate in the first quarter, President Xi’s Shanxi inspection is interpreted as the government encouraging economic development and calming public concerns.

On the final day of his Shanxi inspection, during a work report session after visiting nature reserves, poverty-stricken villages, health clinics, elementary schools, and commercial vehicle manufacturing plants, President Xi mentioned that the Chinese government must strive toward the "Two Centenary Goals" (the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in 2021 and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 2049) and contribute to realizing the "Chinese Dream" of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Specifically, regarding the Two Centenary Goals, he referred to the plan to build a comprehensive Xiaokang (a moderately prosperous society where all citizens enjoy a comfortable and affluent life) society by the Party’s 100th anniversary next year. He said, "This year is the year to complete the building of a Xiaokang society, the conclusion of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016?2020), and the decisive year for poverty alleviation." He added, "The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has posed challenges to achieving our goals, but I hope everyone will exert their utmost efforts morning and night to help achieve these objectives."

President Xi also emphasized the importance of overcoming economic damage by expanding infrastructure investment. He stated, "The long-term positive trend of our country’s economy remains unchanged," and urged, "With firm confidence, we must quickly transform the mode of economic development and strengthen the real economy, especially manufacturing." He called for promoting investment in "new infrastructure" such as 5G, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and industrial internet, while also increasing investment intensity in traditional infrastructure sectors like transportation, water conservancy, and energy. Furthermore, he mentioned the need to address imbalanced development by supplementing rural infrastructure facilities and public services.

The market interprets President Xi’s recent inspection as both an encouragement to achieve economic goals and an effort to soothe public sentiment, which has lost momentum due to COVID-19. Shanxi Province is President Xi’s hometown; his father, former Vice Premier Xi Zhongxun, served as the Party Secretary there, and his tomb is also located in the province.

China is currently facing economic challenges, with a -6.8% GDP growth rate in the first quarter due to the COVID-19 crisis and growing concerns about a worsening employment market. China is expected to soon hold the Two Sessions (Lianghui), where it will likely specify plans for strong economic stimulus measures this year, including raising the fiscal deficit ratio, issuing special government bonds, and expanding the allocation of special-purpose bonds for local government infrastructure investment.