At a press conference held by the National Development and Reform Commission on macroeconomic performance, spokesman Yan Pengcheng asked the reporter: "in the first half of this year, China's GDP increased by 6.8 percent over the same period last year. This is also the 12th consecutive quarter of 6.7% and 6.9% of the medium and high speed range, we also noted a decline in some data indicators, what do you think of this? In addition, after the US side launched a trade war, many people are worried about the impact of China's economy in the second half of the year. how do you evaluate it? " In response, he said:
As I said just now, judging from the macroeconomic data for the first half of this year, China's economic operation has been generally stable and stable since the beginning of this year, the main macroeconomic indicators have remained stable, the economic structure has continued to optimize and upgrade, and the quality and efficiency have continued to improve. The endogenous driving force supporting China's high-quality development is constantly increasing.
But as you have just said, there are also a few economic indicators that have slowed down. For example, indicators such as fixed asset investment and total retail sales of consumer goods have indeed fallen compared with double-digit growth in previous years. In this regard, we believe that it should be viewed dialectically. On the one hand, a slowdown in the growth rate of the relevant indicators does not necessarily mean a decline in economic growth. From the point of view of expenditure method, GDP is composed of final consumption expenditure, total capital formation and net export, but fixed asset investment is not equal to total capital formation, and the total retail sales of social consumer goods is not equal to final consumption. For example, in recent years, the pace of consumption upgrading in China has accelerated, service consumption has grown rapidly, and the proportion of total consumption has been increasing. according to the existing statistical caliber, this change is not fully reflected in the total retail sales index of consumer goods. On the other hand, we should not only look at the quantity of growth, but also at the quality of development. At present, the investment and consumption structure of our country is being continuously optimized. In terms of consumption, we have actively promoted the improvement of consumption quality and the expansion of capacity. in the first half of this year, the online retail sales of physical commodities increased by 29.8 percent, and consumption of information, culture, and tourism was exuberant. From the point of view of investment, the growth rate of private investment and investment in technological transformation has continued to be higher than the overall level of investment, and investment in ecological protection, environmental management, agriculture and other areas of deficiency has maintained a relatively rapid growth, with growth rates of 35.4% and 15.4% respectively in the first half of the year.
At present, there is a lot of discussion about the economic trend of our country in the second half of the year. Some views hold that it is very difficult for China's economy to maintain stable development in the second half of the year because of the external impact brought about by Sino-US economic and trade frictions and the still prominent domestic structural contradictions. In this regard, I would like to make three points.
First, the dynamic structure of China's economic growth is changing. Over the past few years, we have continued to push forward the transformation of the concept of development, the mode of development, and the transformation of the economic structure. the economy of our country has shifted from over-reliance on investment and export to mainly on the support of consumption, service industry, and domestic demand. The contribution rate of final consumption and service industry to economic growth has reached about 60%, and the dependence on foreign trade is declining. The world's largest middle-income group, can be said to contain a huge demand for consumption upgrading; In the past five years, the number of market subjects in China has increased by nearly 80%, and now it has exceeded 100 million. the new industry new business type's new model has developed rapidly, and the contribution rate of new kinetic energy to economic growth has exceeded 1.3%. Three strategies and four regional plates coordinate and linkage, new growth pole growth zone continues to emerge, opening up a larger room for manoeuvre; The scope of opening to the outside world has been continuously expanded, the business environment has continued to improve, and the attractiveness of new foreign-funded enterprises has been significantly increased. in the first half of this year, the number of new foreign-funded enterprises increased by 96.6 percent over the same period last year, and so on. All these will add a stronger driving force to China's economic development.
Second, China has enough policy space to cope with the impact of uncertainty in the world economy. At present, the financial deficit ratio and government debt ratio of our country are low, the capital adequacy ratio and provision coverage rate of commercial banks are high, the debt ratio of enterprises tends to decline, and there is enough space and policy tools for macro-control. In the second half of the year, we will adhere to the overall tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability, maintain strategic stability, enhance the flexibility of macroeconomic policies, strengthen coordination and linkage between policies, and ensure the stability of macroeconomic fundamentals. Specifically, we will focus on making up for the shortcomings, moderately expand effective investment, improve the system and mechanism to promote consumption, and release the potential of domestic demand; Continue to make great efforts to promote the reform of key areas, earnestly solve the blocking points, difficulties and pain points that restrict the development of innovation, and stimulate the vitality of the main body of the market; We will continue to promote the improvement of the business environment and structural tax cuts and fee cuts, let enterprises go light, and effectively enhance the endogenous driving force of economic growth; continue to open wider to the outside world, give full play to the role of the two negative lists, and strive to attract more foreign investment. At the same time, we will strengthen the assessment of the negative impact of the enterprises involved in Sino-US economic and trade frictions and provide targeted support.
Third, China has a wealth of experience in dealing with severe, complex and difficult situations. China has unique institutional advantages and can concentrate its efforts on accomplishing major events that many other countries want to do but cannot do. Looking back on history, we have experienced countless ups and downs along the way, but each time we can deal with it calmly and successfully. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up alone, we have successfully responded to a series of major external shocks, such as the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 international financial crisis, and we can say that we have accumulated a great deal of fruitful experience. Be able to respond effectively to all kinds of risk challenges.
In short, we have the confidence, strength, conditions and sufficient capacity to effectively cope with the uncertainty of the world economy and ensure the achievement of the goals and tasks set at the beginning of the year with the great resilience of China's economy and the certainty of sustained and healthy development. Thank you.
