The first-ever news conference for the CPC Central Committee was presided over by Xu Lin, vice-minister of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and minister of the State Council Information Office.

Five officials answered nine questions from global media outlets, including Bloomberg, Reuters, and Xinhua News Agency. The officials were Wang Xiaohui, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee; Jiang Jinquan, deputy director of the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee; Han Wenxiu, deputy head of the office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs; Ning Jizhe, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission; and Wang Zhigang, minister of science and technology.

Here are the highlights:

On the new press release system

• Establishing a press release system for the Communist Party of China Central Committee is an important institutional arrangement and institutional innovation aimed to adhere to and strengthen the Party’s all-around leadership and improve the Party’s governing capability

On social and economic development

• A focus of 14th Five-Year Plan is goal of achieving moderately prosperous society
• Higher priority on job creation, raising individual income, high-quality education and healthy lifestyle
• China will comprehensively promote consumption to further tap its potential in supporting economic development

On science, tech and innovation

• 14 Five-Year Plan places high importance on development of science, tech and innovation
• China will keep expanding international cooperation with other countries on climate change, public health, energy, as well as scientific policy, research ethics and other topics of global concerns
• China will enhance intellectual property protection, optimize its legal and policy environment to support research and innovation, and provide more opportunities and conveniences for foreign scientists to work in China
• China will become more self-reliant in science and technology, with the goal of becoming a global leader in innovation
• Being self-reliant in science and technology is not in conflict with being open and cooperative

On dual circulation

• China’s new development paradigm emphasizes both domestic and international circulations, rather than a closed internal loop

On 2035 goals

• 14th Five-Year Plan is beginning of new journey toward modern socialist country and 2035 goals
• Reform, opening up and innovation are key to reach 2035 goals

On China-US relations

• A complete economic ‘decoupling’ between China and the US is not realistic at all, and neither will it bring any benefit to either countries or the world
• Economic links between China and the US is determined by the highly complementary nature of respective economic structures and the openness of global economy
• China-US trade volume was up by 16 percent year-on-year in the third quarter even with global trade hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic
• Both sides should continue to uphold banners of peace, development, cooperation and win-win outcomes and resolutely safeguard multilateralism

On macroeconomic policies

• China will focus more on maintaining the stability of macroeconomic policies to anchor market expectation
• Policymakers will work to better coordinate the targets of achieving reasonable economic growth, adding new jobs, and stabilizing price levels
• Cross-cycle macro adjustments will be improved, with better designs of policy direction, focus, strength and pace
• China must coordinate domestic and international factors, and pursue development while ensuring security, to resolve all kinds of risks in the upcoming 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period

On cultural development

• China to set new, higher standards for cultural development

On developing economy amid pandemic

• China controlled COVID-19 spread in a timely way
• China introduced policies to invigorate market
• China fostered driving forces by tapping into new modes of innovation
• Rising prices, unemployment issues were eased
• COVID-19 rebound highlights china’s strengths

On CPC leadership

• Strong leadership vital to economic, social development
• China in an important period of strategic development

On Hong Kong

• The central government will extend further support to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to consolidate its competitive strengths and develop itself into an international hub for scientific and technological innovation during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period

SOURCE China Daily