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Vice Minister Sheng Qiuping attended the State Council Information Office press conference to introduce relevant policies and measures to stabilize employment, stabilize the economy and promote high-quality development
Time: April 28, 2025 10:00 AM
Place: State Council Information Office Press Conference Hall
Posted by:Zhao Chenxin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission;
Yu Jiadong, vice minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security;
Sheng Qiuping, vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce;
Zou Lan, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China;
Content: The State Council Information Office held a press conference at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 28, 2025, inviting Zhao Chenxin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, Yu Jiadong, deputy minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Sheng Qiuping, deputy minister of the Ministry of Commerce, and Zou Lan, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, to introduce the policy measures to stabilize employment, stabilize the economy and promote high-quality development, and answer questions from reporters. (Photo and text source: Guoxin.com)
Transcript
Shou Xiaoli, Director of the Information Bureau of the State Council Information Office and Spokesperson : Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to the press conference of the State Council Information Office. Today we are very pleased to invite Mr. Zhao Chenxin, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, Mr. Yu Jiadong, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Mr. Sheng Qiuping, Deputy Minister of Commerce, and Mr. Zou Lan, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China, to introduce the relevant policies and measures to stabilize employment, stabilize the economy and promote high-quality development, and answer questions of concern to everyone.
Next, we first invite Mr. Zhao Chenxin to make an introduction. 2025-04-28 10:00:15
Zhao Chenxin, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission : Dear journalists and friends, good morning! I am very happy to attend today's press conference. According to the arrangement of the host, I will first give you an overall introduction.
On April 25, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting to analyze and study the current economic situation and deploy the next economic work. The meeting emphasized that we must adhere to the general tone of work of seeking progress while maintaining stability, fully and accurately implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, coordinate domestic economic work and international economic and trade struggles, unswervingly do our own things, unswervingly expand high-level opening up, focus on stabilizing employment, stabilizing enterprises, stabilizing the market, and stabilizing expectations, and respond to the uncertainty of the rapid changes in the external environment with the certainty of high-quality development, which points out the direction and provides guidance for the next step of economic work. This fully reflects the high attention paid by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core to economic work, and fully demonstrates the confidence and determination to maintain the stable operation of the economy.
The meeting particularly emphasized that we must continuously improve the policy toolbox for stabilizing employment and the economy. Previously, the State Council Executive Meeting on April 18 had studied several measures to stabilize employment, stabilize the economy and promote high-quality development. Here, I will focus on introducing several measures to implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, stabilize employment and the economy, and promote high-quality development. Several measures follow up on the incremental policy package, the Central Economic Work Conference and the National Two Sessions last September, and are important measures to cope with changes in the external environment and concrete actions to implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. The Central Economic Work Conference has clearly stated that it is necessary to enrich and improve the policy toolbox, dynamically adjust policies according to the degree of external influence, strengthen extraordinary counter-cyclical adjustments, and improve the forward-looking, targeted and effective nature of macroeconomic regulation. Since the CPC Central Committee deployed and launched a package of incremental policies last year, in accordance with the requirements of the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission, together with relevant departments, has closely followed the changes in the domestic and foreign economic situation and dynamically updated and improved the policy toolbox. The several measures introduced this time are another major deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to scientifically judge the characteristics of the current situation, make decisive decisions and deployments, and act according to the times and circumstances.
Several measures specifically include five aspects. I will first point out the specific measures here. Each sentence is a summary of the specific measures. Comrades from relevant departments will give further introductions during the Q&A session, and policies will be introduced item by item later. In terms of supporting employment, it mainly includes several specific measures, such as encouraging enterprises to actively stabilize employment, increasing vocational skills training, expanding support for work-for-relief, and strengthening public employment services; in terms of stabilizing foreign trade development, it mainly includes several specific measures, such as increasing support for one industry, one enterprise, helping export enterprises to avoid risks, expanding service products to "go overseas", and encouraging foreign-funded enterprises to reinvest in China; in terms of promoting consumption, it mainly includes several specific measures, such as expanding service consumption, strengthening care for disabled elderly people, promoting the expansion of automobile consumption, and building a skill-oriented salary distribution system; in terms of actively expanding effective investment, it mainly includes several specific measures, such as improving consumption infrastructure, vigorously boosting the enthusiasm of private investment, and establishing new policy financial instruments; in terms of creating a good environment for stable development, it mainly includes several specific measures, such as continuously stabilizing and activating the capital market, continuously consolidating the stable situation of the real estate market, and increasing financial support for the real economy. All of the above policies focus on highlighting pertinence and operability, focusing on enhancing the sense of gain of enterprises and the masses, and will be introduced one by one as they mature.
In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will actively work with all relevant parties to implement a number of measures. At the same time, it will also follow the requirements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council to conduct regular and open policy pre-research and reserve, fully prepare emergency plans, continuously improve the policy toolbox for stabilizing employment and the economy, and timely introduce incremental reserve policies according to changes in the situation. We believe that the introduction and implementation of a number of measures will provide strong support for the economy, promote stable and healthy economic development and maintain social stability.
I will introduce these first, and I am willing to answer your questions with several colleagues. 2025-04-28 10:10:57
Shou Xiaoli : Thank you, Deputy Director Zhao Chenxin, for your introduction. Now we will move on to the question and answer session. Please inform us of your news organization before asking questions. 2025-04-28 10:12:28
Reporter from the US International Market News Agency : I have two questions. The first question is that the US Treasury bond and US dollar exchange rate markets have fluctuated sharply recently. I would like to ask the People's Bank of China, what impact will this have on the Chinese market? Are you worried that the decline in US Treasury bonds will affect the returns of US dollar assets held by China? How does the People's Bank of China view the performance of the RMB exchange rate this year? The second question is that China's GDP grew by 5.4% in the first quarter. Considering the current economic trend and Sino-US trade tensions, are the relevant departments confident that they can achieve this year's 5% growth target through the policies that have been announced? Or do they need to introduce other policy measures? Thank you. 2025-04-28 10:18:23
Zou Lan, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China : Thank you for your question. I will answer your first question. Recently, the United States has announced a substantial increase in tariffs on a number of economies, which has seriously infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of various countries, seriously damaged the rules-based multilateral governance system, severely impacted the global economic order, and undermined the long-term stable growth of the global economy. At the same time, it has also triggered sharp fluctuations in global financial markets, investors' risk sentiment towards US dollar assets has increased, the US dollar index has fallen sharply, US Treasury yields have risen, US stock market volatility has intensified, and global asset portfolios have been reconfigured among regions. From the perspective of China, the economy has started well and continued to recover and improve. The financial system remains sound, the financial market has shown strong resilience and operates smoothly, and the RMB exchange rate against the US dollar is running at around 7.3 yuan.
We have noticed that there have been some fluctuations in the US Treasury market recently. I would like to emphasize that for a long time, China's foreign exchange reserves have been invested in the international financial market in accordance with the market-oriented and professional principles with the goal of safety, liquidity and value preservation and appreciation, and have achieved a relatively effective diversification of the investment portfolio. The impact of changes in a single market and a single asset on China's foreign exchange reserves is generally limited.
China has a solid economic foundation, a basically balanced balance of international payments, and a resilient foreign exchange market, which will continue to provide strong support for the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate. First, the economic foundation is solid. On April 25, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee made important arrangements for recent economic work. China's economy will continue to rebound and improve, and respond to the uncertainty of the rapidly changing external environment with the certainty of high-quality development. Second, the balance of international payments is basically balanced. Foreign trade enterprises actively explore diversified markets and respond quickly to the diversified needs of the global market. The financial market is open to the outside world in an orderly manner, and the level of cross-border investment and financing facilitation continues to improve, attracting a steady inflow of medium- and long-term capital from abroad. Third, the foreign exchange market is resilient. Market participants are more mature, trading behavior is more rational, and the proportion of enterprises using foreign exchange derivatives for hedging and the proportion of cross-border RMB payments and receipts have steadily increased, which can better cope with external shocks. Fourth, the scale of foreign exchange reserves remains basically stable. In recent months, the balance of foreign exchange reserves has remained stable at more than US$3.2 trillion.
In the next stage, the People's Bank of China will continue to implement a moderately loose monetary policy and increase its support for the real economy. At the same time, we should adhere to the managed floating exchange rate system based on market supply and demand and adjusted with reference to a basket of currencies, adhere to the decisive role of the market in the formation of exchange rates, enhance the resilience of the foreign exchange market, stabilize market expectations, strengthen market management, resolutely correct the pro-cyclical behavior of the market, resolutely deal with the behavior that disrupts the market order, resolutely prevent the risk of overshooting of the exchange rate, and maintain the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level. Thank you. 2025-04-28 10:18:40
Zhao Chenxin : Thank you for the reporter's question. Following the answer of Vice Governor Zou Lan, I will focus on your second question. You just mentioned the economic situation in the first quarter. In the first quarter, China's economy handed in a very impressive report card, which is meaningful and distinctive.
First, this report card fully demonstrates the strong resilience and vitality of China's economic development. At the end of last year, especially since this year, some countries went against the trend of the times and wielded the tariff stick wantonly, seriously infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of countries including China, seriously undermining the multilateral trading system, and severely impacting the global economic order. In such a chaotic and complex external environment, with concerns and doubts pervasive in various countries and the economy deeply affected, China's economy grew by 5.4% year-on-year in the first quarter, 0.4 percentage points faster than the whole of last year, showing a positive trend. Moreover, this was achieved under the high base of 5.3% growth in the first quarter of last year, which fully demonstrated the strong resilience and vitality of the Chinese economy. This process has just been experienced by everyone, and everyone has a personal experience. For example, we have seen that exports have grown by 6.9% against the trend, and the breakthrough innovation of large models has attracted global attention. During the Spring Festival and Qingming Festival, the number of domestic tourists and consumption have increased rapidly. Smart panoramic cameras, national trends and related derivatives made in China have been popular at home and abroad. In the news reports of the past two days, some stores abroad even had a hundred-meter-long queue at 3 a.m. to buy. We say that China's economy is resilient and full of vitality, and social confidence continues to be boosted. This is a summary based entirely on facts. What I just said are all vivid examples.
Second, this report card fully demonstrates that high-quality development is being promoted in a solid manner. China's economy is not only growing at an impressive rate, but also constantly making new achievements and breakthroughs in innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing. In terms of innovation, the output of servers, new energy vehicles and 3D printing equipment increased by 66.3%, 45.4% and 44.9% year-on-year in the first quarter, respectively. The application of large models in electronics, automobiles and other fields has accelerated, driving a surge in demand for computing power products and intelligent products. In terms of coordination, the implementation of major regional strategies and regional coordinated development strategies has been intensified, and the vitality of regional development has been continuously enhanced. In terms of green, the average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in cities at or above the prefecture level nationwide decreased by 4.8% year-on-year, and the proportion of surface water quality sections of Class I-III increased to 91%. In terms of openness, the number of unilateral visa-free countries increased to 38, and the number of mutual visa-free countries increased to 27. Inbound tourism reached 34.683 million, an increase of 18.5% year-on-year. In terms of sharing, the per capita disposable income of rural residents increased by 6.5% year-on-year, 0.9 percentage points higher than the national average. This series of figures truly demonstrates the high quality of China's economic development.
Third, this report card fully demonstrates that we are consolidating certainty to cope with the uncertainty of the rapidly changing external environment. In terms of domestic demand, in the first quarter of this year, the contribution rate of domestic demand to economic growth increased by 6.3 percentage points compared with the fourth quarter of last year, and it played a more effective role as the main driving force and stabilizing anchor of economic growth. In terms of external demand, more than 170 countries and regions achieved positive growth in imports from China, which effectively promoted the diversification of China's exports. In terms of people's livelihood, 3.08 million new jobs were created in urban areas, an increase of 50,000 year-on-year, and the level of basic social public services continued to improve. In terms of security, the sown area of grain has increased steadily, and energy security has become more powerful. These have laid a solid foundation for the sustained, stable and healthy development of China's economy and fully demonstrated the certainty of China's economic development.
The achievements in the first quarter have laid a solid foundation for the economic development of the whole year. Looking forward to the next step, although the foundation for the continued recovery of the economy needs to be further consolidated and the impact of external shocks has increased, we must also see that we have the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core and the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, we have the favorable conditions of deepening reform and opening up, broad market demand, and solid industrial foundation, and we have the stable support of macroeconomic policies, smooth supply and demand circulation, and expanded economic and trade space. We also have rich policy reserves and sufficient policy space. We will accelerate the implementation of a number of measures to stabilize employment and the economy, promote the implementation of various policies as soon as possible, pay more attention to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of policy implementation, and ensure that they reach the masses and enterprises directly; at the same time, we will increase our efforts to promote the implementation of established policies, including special actions to boost consumption, make good use of this year's 5 trillion yuan of investment funds at the national level, and accelerate the establishment of a national venture capital guidance fund, etc. Most of these policies will be implemented in the second quarter, and the consistency of policy orientation will be continuously strengthened. No matter how the international situation changes, we will anchor our development goals, maintain strategic focus, and focus on doing our own things. We are full of confidence in achieving this year's economic and social development goals and tasks.
In addition, I would like to make a few additions to Vice Governor Zou Lan's views. Just now you mentioned the current trade situation between China and the United States, and I would like to briefly talk about my views. The impact and impact of the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" imposed by the United States have spread to the world, and everyone is observing, analyzing and responding. They play cards out of thin air, bully and go back on their words, which makes everyone see more and more clearly the essence, that is, the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" seriously violate the historical trend and economic laws, seriously impact the rules and order of international trade, and seriously damage the legitimate rights and interests of countries around the world. It is a typical unilateral bullying practice. This behavior hurts others and oneself, is unpopular, and will inevitably end in failure. China is the world's largest developing country and a responsible major country. Faced with unreasonable and abusive tariffs, China resolutely stood up to stop hegemony and power and implemented a series of reasonable, beneficial and measured countermeasures, not only to safeguard its own legitimate rights and interests, but also to safeguard international fairness and justice, safeguard the global free trade system, and safeguard the normal international economic order. China will stand with the vast majority of countries in the world, stand on the right side of history, and stand on the side of human progress. We firmly believe that going against the world and the truth will only isolate ourselves, and only by walking with the world and morality can we win the future. 2025-04-28 10:35:32
CCTV reporter : The current international environment is complex and severe. The high tariffs imposed by the United States will inevitably put pressure on the Chinese economy. The role of consumption in driving economic growth is becoming more prominent. What are the work and results of the Ministry of Commerce in boosting consumption? What practical measures will be taken in the next step to promote the release of consumption potential and boost economic growth? Thank you. 2025-04-28 10:42:10
Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of Commerce : Thank you for your attention to the work of expanding consumption. In the face of the current complex and severe international environment, it is of special significance to vigorously boost consumption and expand domestic demand in all directions.
Since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Commerce has resolutely implemented the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, vigorously implemented special actions to boost consumption, stepped up efforts to expand the scope of consumer goods trade-in, promoted the quality upgrade of commodity consumption, promoted the high-quality development of service consumption, and held the National Premium First Release Season and other consumption promotion activities. The Fifth Consumer Goods Expo was successfully held to promote the continuous expansion of consumption. In the first quarter, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 4.6% year-on-year, an increase of 1.1 percentage points over the previous year. In particular, the growth rate in March was 5.9%, the fastest monthly growth since last year. The contribution rate of consumption reached 51.7%, an increase of 7.2 percentage points over the whole of last year.
In the next step, we will resolutely implement the arrangements of the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on April 25, unswervingly do our own work, and launch detailed measures around the "two stability" policy measures to further enhance the role of consumption in driving economic growth and better respond to external risks and challenges with a strong domestic market. I will focus on introducing the following four measures.
First, we will expand the scope and improve the quality of the old-for-new policy for consumer goods. Last year, the old-for-new policy for consumer goods achieved positive results. This year, we will build on this momentum and expand the scope. The support funds have reached 300 billion yuan, which has doubled. The categories of home appliances supported have been expanded from 8 to 12 categories, and subsidies for the purchase of new digital products such as mobile phones have been added. We will guide local governments to speed up the implementation of measures and strive to ensure that the people-friendly policies are implemented as soon as possible and benefit the people as soon as possible. As of 24:00 on April 27, 2.814 million cars were traded in for new ones, 49.416 million 12 categories of home appliances were traded in for new ones, 37.855 million mobile phones and other digital products were purchased for new ones, 40.906 million home furnishings and kitchen and bathroom appliances were "renovated", and more than 4.2 million electric bicycles were traded in for new ones, which together drove sales of more than 720 billion yuan. Since the implementation of the policy, a large number of foreign trade and foreign-funded enterprises have received policy support, and a large number of smart, green, healthy and fashionable new consumer products have entered thousands of households. More than 120 million people have enjoyed subsidies in real money. Next, we will continue to improve the effectiveness of the policy of trade-in for consumer goods, so that consumers can enjoy the policy dividends faster and better.
Second, promote the reform of automobile circulation consumption. On the basis of carrying out the trade-in of old cars and meeting the consumption demand for new cars, one of our key tasks this year is to organize and carry out pilot reforms in automobile circulation consumption, support qualified places in various links such as new cars, used cars, scrapped cars, and the automotive aftermarket, actively innovate and try first; encourage relevant regions to optimize the restrictions on automobile purchase and driving to better meet the residents' demand for automobile purchases; focus on "getting things done efficiently", build a national automobile life cycle information platform, break through data islands, and facilitate the consumption of used cars; support local development of automobile aftermarkets such as automobile modification, RV camping, and traditional classic cars, develop automobile sports and automobile culture, extend the automobile consumption chain, and strive to cultivate new automobile consumption.
Third, implement the action of improving the quality of service consumption and benefiting the people. Recently, we have successively issued the 2025 work plan for the action of improving the quality of service consumption and benefiting the people, the action plan for increasing the opening of silver-haired tourism trains, the special action plan for promoting healthy consumption, and several measures to promote the expansion and upgrading of domestic service consumption. In the first quarter, a total of 187 tourist trains were launched, a year-on-year increase of 30%, of which elderly tourists accounted for nearly 80%. The pilot expansion and improvement action of the "15-minute convenient life circle" was implemented, focusing on the shortcomings of "the elderly and the young" to make up for the shortcomings and create a "happiness circle" for the people. In the next step, we will actively respond to the expectations of the people in the service consumption field and work with relevant departments to formulate a package of policy measures to support service consumption. Carry out "service consumption season" and other consumption expansion activities to create service consumption hotspots. Adhere to "opening up to the outside world and liberalizing internally", increase policy support, and continuously expand the supply of diversified services such as health, elderly care, childcare, and housekeeping to better meet the people's growing needs for a better life.
Fourth, hold a series of "Buy in China" activities. On April 13, we launched the "Buy in China" series of activities at the 5th Consumer Goods Expo together with relevant departments, deploying local governments to focus on the first-release economy, and hold first-release, first-show, first-exhibition and colorful and diverse special activities in the four major areas of boutique shopping, exquisite food, wonderful tourism, and exquisite performances. "Buy in China" not only serves Chinese consumers, but also faces people from all over the world. Yesterday afternoon, we held a press conference to release policies to further optimize departure tax refunds and expand inbound consumption. For example, enterprises with a tax credit rating of M or above can apply to become tax refund stores, with the minimum refund point lowered from 500 yuan to 200 yuan, and the cash tax refund limit raised from 10,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan, making tax refunds more convenient for overseas travelers. Here, I also sincerely welcome foreign friends to come to China to buy good things, taste delicious food, and enjoy beautiful scenery.
I believe that as various policies to expand consumption continue to work, consumption will continue to show a steady development trend, and the vitality and potential of China's super-large-scale market will be further released. Thank you. 2025-04-28 10:51:49
Xinhua News Agency reporter : The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee proposed to continuously improve the policy toolbox for stabilizing employment and the economy. What is the employment situation this year? What measures will be taken to stabilize employment in the next step? Thank you. 2025-04-28 10:53:00
Yu Jiadong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security : Thank you for your question. The Party Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to employment. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that it is especially important to do a good job in employment, which is the most basic livelihood. All regions and departments have resolutely implemented and taken multiple measures to stabilize and expand employment. In the first quarter of this year, the employment situation remained generally stable, with 3.08 million new jobs in urban areas nationwide, an increase of 50,000 year-on-year, faster than the time sequence. This was also mentioned by Director Chen Xin just now. The average urban survey unemployment rate in the first quarter was 5.3%, lower than the expected control target. Employment of key groups such as college graduates, migrant workers, and people in difficulties is stable.
At the same time, the foundation for the continued recovery of the economy needs to be further consolidated. The impact of external shocks has increased. The United States has imposed high tariffs in turn. Some foreign trade enterprises are facing difficulties in production and operation. Some workers' jobs have been affected, and employment pressure continues to rise. On April 25, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee analyzed and studied the current economic situation and economic work, and released a clear signal of stabilizing employment and the economy to promote high-quality development. We will resolutely implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, face difficulties and move forward under pressure, and make every effort to ensure the overall stability of the employment situation. There are five key aspects:
First, continue to tap potential and expand employment space. On the one hand, we will implement the implementation plan for job potential expansion, introduce incentive policies and increase job release efforts in key areas such as the development of new quality productivity, the creation of new consumption hotspots, the implementation of key engineering projects, and the provision of basic livelihood services. Last month, the State Council's Leading Group for Employment Promotion and Labor Protection issued a document to increase the potential expansion of jobs in key areas, key industries, urban and rural grassroots and small and medium-sized enterprises, and support employment and entrepreneurship of key groups. On the other hand, we will actively expand new employment growth points. Recently, some large companies have released large-scale recruitment plans. Market agency data show that the recruitment demand in industries such as life services, transportation and logistics, and resident services increased year-on-year in the first quarter, and the demand for artificial intelligence positions such as robot algorithm engineers increased by more than 30% year-on-year, all of which reflect that China's labor market has sufficient potential and strong resilience.
Second, we will make a good combination of employment stabilization policies. We must fully implement the existing policies that have been issued, accelerate the fulfillment of job stabilization returns, guaranteed loans, and employment subsidies, and continue to implement the reduction of unemployment and work-related injury insurance premiums. In the early stage, we increased the special loan quota for job stabilization and expansion, with a maximum credit of 50 million yuan for small and micro enterprises and 10 million yuan for individuals. Recently, we have allocated 66.7 billion yuan of central employment subsidy funds in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance to provide guarantees for policy implementation. At the same time, we will accelerate the introduction of incremental policies, increase support for enterprises to expand jobs, increase employment subsidy support for individuals, and increase the proportion of unemployment insurance return for enterprises that are greatly affected by tariffs.
Third, we will highlight the protection of employment for key groups. We will make employment of college graduates and other youth a top priority, accelerate the implementation of the 17 measures for employment of college graduates and other youth just issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Finance, launch an employment service campaign, and stabilize employment levels. We will expand channels for migrant workers and nearby employment, increase support for work-for-relief, promote employment and increase income for migrant workers, and stabilize the employment scale of 30 million people who have escaped poverty. We will strengthen employment assistance for people in difficulty and implement the "two preferential policies and three subsidies" policy, which is loan preferential policies, tax preferential policies, training subsidies, job subsidies, and social security subsidies, to ensure the employment bottom line of groups in difficulty.
Fourth, we will increase the intensity of vocational skills training. We will thoroughly implement the "Skills Illuminate the Future" campaign, promote the four-in-one project-based training model of "job demand + skills training + skills evaluation + employment services", implement differentiated subsidy support, and promote better linkage between training and employment and income increase. We will support enterprises that are severely affected by tariffs to organize on-the-job training, job transfer training and other methods to keep employees in the enterprises.
Fifth, we will strengthen public employment services. We will mobilize public employment service agencies and human resources service companies to organize special recruitment sessions and targeted job placements for cities and parks affected by tariffs to help workers transfer to other jobs. We will strengthen the protection of the rights and interests of flexible employment and new employment forms, carry out special actions to clean up and rectify the order of the human resources market, and better protect the employment rights and interests of workers.
In addition, I would like to say one more thing. We have made a comprehensive analysis and full prediction of this year's employment situation together with relevant departments, and are ready to deal with various uncertainties. We have a sufficient toolbox of employment policies, and have made policy reserves in terms of encouraging enterprises to absorb employment, supporting enterprises to stabilize and expand jobs, and promoting workers to improve their skills and start businesses, which will be launched in a timely manner according to changes in the situation. We believe that through everyone's joint efforts, we have the confidence and the strength to continue to maintain the overall stability of the employment situation.
Thank you. 2025-04-28 10:53:15
21st Century Business Herald reporter : The Politburo meeting proposed to increase support for the real economy. Based on the credit structure data, what progress has been made in financial support for major strategies, key areas and weak links? What are your considerations for the next step? Thank you. 2025-04-28 10:57:28
Zou Lan : Thank you for your question. I will answer this question. Since the beginning of this year, the People's Bank of China has conscientiously implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Central Economic Work Conference and the Government Work Report, increased macroeconomic regulation, strengthened counter-cyclical regulation, comprehensively used a variety of monetary policy tools, strengthened the coordination of various policies, urged banks to continuously optimize the credit structure, and promoted the sustained recovery of the economy.
From the perspective of total volume, the People's Bank of China has accurately injected liquidity and maintained a reasonable growth of monetary credit. At the end of March, the balance of broad money M2 was 32.6 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7%; the stock of social financing scale was 42.3 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.4%; the balance of RMB loans was 26.5 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.4%.
Regarding the growth rate of loans, it is necessary to make a special note that since the end of last year, the country has implemented a large-scale special bond replacement action. Local governments have repaid their existing implicit debts by issuing special refinancing bonds, mainly in the form of loans. This has brought some impact on statistical data analysis. If this factor is excluded, the year-on-year growth rate of the balance of RMB loans should be more than 8% on a comparable basis.
From the perspective of structure, financial support for key areas has become more powerful, and support for key areas and weak links of the national economy such as scientific and technological innovation, green and low-carbon, and inclusive finance has been significantly strengthened. At the end of March, the balance of loans to "specialized, refined, special and innovative" small and medium-sized enterprises was 6.3 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.1%; the balance of green loans exceeded 4 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.6% from the beginning of the year; the balance of inclusive small and micro loans was about 3.5 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.2%; the number of inclusive small and micro credit accounts was about 62 million, an increase of 930,000 in the first quarter of this year, which was 550,000 more than the first quarter of the same period last year, more than double. The balance of RMB household consumer loans was close to 6 trillion yuan, an increase of about 250 billion yuan in the first quarter, an increase of more than 200 billion yuan year-on-year. The balance of personal housing loans was about 3.8 trillion yuan, an increase of about 220 billion yuan in the first quarter, an increase of more than 200 billion yuan year-on-year compared with the first quarter of last year.
In terms of maturity, medium- and long-term loans continued to maintain a high growth rate, providing financial support for stabilizing investment. At the end of March, medium- and long-term loans in RMB and foreign currencies in all industries of major financial institutions increased by 8.5%. Among them, medium- and long-term loans to the manufacturing industry grew by 9.3%; medium- and long-term loans to the industrial sector grew by 11.2%; medium- and long-term loans to the infrastructure sector grew by 8%; and medium- and long-term loans to the service industry excluding the real estate sector grew by 7.5%, all of which grew at a rate higher than the average growth rate of all loans.
In terms of interest rates, the People's Bank of China has promoted the decline in financing costs for the real economy, and the interest burden of business entities and residents has continued to ease. In March this year, the weighted average interest rate of newly issued corporate loans was about 3.3%, down 0.45 percentage points year- on-year; the interest rate of newly issued inclusive small and micro enterprise loans was about 3.6%, down 0.55 percentage points year-on-year.
In the next step, the People's Bank of China will, in accordance with the spirit of the meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, step up the implementation of more proactive and effective macroeconomic policies, make good use of moderately loose monetary policies, and timely reduce the reserve requirement ratio and interest rates according to the domestic and international economic situation and the operation of the financial market, so as to maintain ample liquidity. We will give full play to the dual functions of monetary policy tools in terms of both total volume and structure, create new structural monetary policy tools, and precisely increase financial support in key areas of stabilizing employment and stabilizing growth.
First, we will precisely increase efforts to stabilize employment. We will make greater efforts to promote the implementation of the policy of guaranteed loans for entrepreneurship, and increase support for entrepreneurship and employment for key groups such as migrant workers returning to their hometowns, new citizens, college graduates, and women.
Second, we will precisely increase our efforts to stabilize foreign trade. We will guide financial institutions to not withdraw loans or continue to lend to small and medium-sized enterprises that are highly dependent on foreign trade, temporarily encounter difficulties, and have competitive products, and ensure reasonable financing needs.
Third, we will precisely increase our efforts to promote consumption. We will focus on the supply side of service consumption, focus on key areas such as culture, tourism, sports, catering, accommodation, education and training, increase financial support, form a policy synergy with other policies, and jointly promote a substantial increase and improvement in the supply of service consumption to meet the people's growing demand for diversified service consumption.
Fourth, we will precisely increase our efforts to expand investment. We will support financial institutions to innovate financial tools, increase the issuance of medium- and long-term loans, and provide financing support for key areas such as "two new" and "two heavy".
In addition, we are also studying to enrich the policy toolbox, and will introduce incremental policies in a timely manner to help stabilize employment, enterprises, markets, and expectations, and effectively consolidate the fundamentals of economic development and social stability. Thank you. 2025-04-28 11:00:27
The Paper : Under the current international situation, domestic demand is becoming increasingly important. Last year, the Central Economic Work Conference proposed to vigorously boost consumption, improve investment efficiency, and expand domestic demand in all directions. What progress has been made so far? What policies will be introduced in the future to better play the role of domestic demand as the driving force? Thank you. 2025-04-28 11:12:57
Zhao Chenxin : Thank you for your question. I will answer this question. In April 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed to build a new development pattern with domestic circulation as the main body and domestic and international circulations mutually reinforcing each other. Over the past five years, accelerating the construction of a new development pattern has achieved very remarkable results. Domestic demand has increasingly become the main engine of China's economic development. In this process, we have also accumulated rich practical experience and counter-cyclical adjustment policy tools.
Judging from the situation in the first quarter of this year, various macro policies have continued to exert their strength and become effective, and the potential of domestic demand is being released at a faster pace. Let me give you some examples. For example, the sales of old-for-new exchanges of five major consumer goods, including automobiles, home appliances, digital products, home kitchen and bathroom, and electric bicycles, exceeded 500 billion yuan, supporting the total retail sales of consumer goods to grow by 4.6% year-on-year, an increase of 1.1 percentage points over the whole of last year. For another example, large-scale equipment renewal has driven the national investment in equipment and tools to grow by 19% year-on-year, contributing 64.6% to the growth of total investment, and driving the growth rate of total investment to increase by 1 percentage point over the whole of last year. For example, the 2025 version of the negative list for market access was recently announced. The number of items on the list has been reduced from 151 in the 2018 version to the current 106. The list is getting shorter and shorter, the market is becoming more active, and the economic cycle is becoming smoother.
As the world's second largest economy and a country with a population of more than 1.4 billion, China has huge potential and space to expand domestic demand, and these are all very realistic needs. I will also give some examples, such as: in the consumer field, China has 353 million cars, and the number of major household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners exceeds 3 billion. According to the normal cycle of replacement, it can create tens of trillions of yuan in demand each year; in addition to durable consumer goods, there is huge demand for new service consumption such as entertainment, tourism, and sports. The release of "Nezha 2" at the beginning of the year and the hot holiday tourism market have all shown us the huge potential of service consumption. In the investment field, the net asset value of the total equipment stock in China is about 40 trillion yuan. With the in-depth promotion of high-quality development, the annual investment demand for equipment replacement will exceed 5 trillion yuan. According to institutional estimates, the scale of China's artificial intelligence industry will exceed 700 billion yuan in 2024, and it has maintained a growth rate of more than 20% for many consecutive years. The investment space will continue to expand and expand in the future. China is deeply implementing the new urbanization strategy. Every increase of 1 percentage point in the urbanization rate can drive trillion-scale investment demand. Taking the construction and transformation of urban underground pipelines as an example, preliminary statistics show that about 600,000 kilometers of various pipelines such as gas and drainage need to be updated and transformed in the next five years, which can create an investment demand of about 4 trillion yuan. It can be said that we have very realistic and huge potential space to expand domestic demand.
To better play the role of the main driving force of domestic demand, the specific ideas and methods are also very clear, that is, to increase the income of middle- and low-income groups, vigorously boost consumption, expand effective investment, and strengthen the domestic circulation. In the next step, the National Development and Reform Commission will earnestly implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and do a solid job in these three aspects. In terms of boosting consumption, we have recently issued the second batch of consumer goods trade-in funds this year. The first two batches have issued a total of more than 160 billion yuan, and there will be about 140 billion yuan in the future. We will issue them one after another according to the payment progress of various places. A childcare subsidy system will also be established and implemented, and a special re-lending tool will be created to increase support for key service consumption areas and the development of the elderly care industry. At the same time, special actions to boost consumption will be implemented in depth, and special measures in various fields will be introduced as soon as possible, guiding cities with purchase restrictions to increase car purchase quotas for key groups such as long-term lottery families and car-free families. In terms of expanding investment, the update and upgrade of industrial software and other products will be included in the scope of support for the "two new" policies, and investment in consumer infrastructure and social fields will be accelerated. The "doubling" action of charging facilities will be formulated and implemented to support the construction of parking spaces in cities with a permanent population of more than 3 million in urban areas, especially in super-large and mega-cities. We will strive to issue a list of all projects for the "two heavy" construction and central budget investment in 2025 by the end of June, and at the same time establish new policy financial tools to solve the problem of insufficient capital for project construction. In terms of smooth circulation, we will accelerate the construction of a unified national market, carry out a market access barrier cleanup and rectification campaign for about half a year, speed up the introduction of the Private Economy Promotion Law, and help foreign trade companies expand domestic sales; at the same time, we will accelerate the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, establish a national venture capital guidance fund, and promote the deep integration of artificial intelligence with 60 key industry directions and 700 basic scenarios.
That's all I have to say, thank you. 2025-04-28 11:13:22
Beijing Youth Daily reporter : The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security just introduced the current employment situation. I would like to ask you about the large-scale vocational skills improvement training you mentioned earlier. Can you give us a detailed introduction to the specific measures? How is the progress of this work now? Thank you. 2025-04-28 11:15:45
Yu Jiadong : Thank you for your attention to skills training. In order to implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and in light of the current employment situation, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, together with relevant departments, has launched large-scale vocational skills training with the special training action of "Skills Illuminate the Future".
First, we will focus on employment and improve the pertinence of vocational skills training. From this year to 2027, we will focus on key groups such as rural migrant workers and unemployed college graduates who have left school, focusing on areas with large employment capacity and strong recruitment demand such as health care and childcare, advanced manufacturing, modern services, and new occupations, to improve the pertinence and effectiveness of training. At the same time, we will promote the establishment of training on the industrial chain, give full play to the main role of enterprise training, achieve a skill ecological chain that integrates industry, teaching, and evaluation, and promote the integrated development of enterprise employee training, college student employment, and employee skill improvement.
Second, we will strengthen policy incentives and increase the enthusiasm of enterprises and workers for training. We will coordinate the financial resources of employment subsidy funds, unemployment insurance funds, and other channels, implement a plan to cultivate high-skilled leading talents, and build high-skilled talent training bases, skill training bases, and skill master studios based on qualified enterprises, so as to give full play to the main role of enterprises in carrying out skills training. Support the development of vocational skills training for key groups, encourage enterprises to cultivate highly skilled talents, implement differentiated subsidy policies, and stimulate the intrinsic motivation
of workers to participate in training. Third, implement the "new eight-level worker" system to smooth the channel for workers to become skilled talents. Encourage workers to participate in vocational skill level evaluation after training, and provide skill improvement subsidies to qualified personnel who have obtained corresponding professional qualification certificates or professional qualification level certificates in accordance with regulations to improve their employment competitiveness. Support enterprises to independently carry out vocational skill level evaluation, and use the evaluation and appointment of chief technicians and special technicians as a guide to drive employees to improve their vocational skill levels. The chain leader of the skill ecological chain can directly serve as a vocational skill level certification agency, conduct skill evaluation for employees of enterprises in the production chain, issue vocational skill level certificates, and implement treatment according to regulations.
Fourth, improve the distribution system to promote the increase of income of workers' skills. Build a skill-oriented salary distribution system, formulate and issue a reference guide for the classification of the minimum wage for skilled talents, guide enterprises to use vocational skill levels as an important reference for wage distribution, and promote wage distribution to key positions, production lines, and urgently needed and scarce skilled talents. Guide enterprises to establish a job performance wage system that matches the occupational skill level (position) sequence, so that those who work harder, those with higher skills, and those who innovate can get more.
Recently, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Medical Insurance Bureau, issued special training plans for employees in the fields of elderly care services, domestic services, and long-term care. In the future, we will work with more departments to formulate special training plans by industry and field. In accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, local human resources and social security departments are successively releasing catalogs of training institutions and catalogs of training projects to provide guidance for workers to participate in training.
In the next step, we will increase our efforts and actively build a lifelong vocational skills training system with the goal of high-quality full employment, and make a good combination of promoting employment, strengthening incentives, boosting growth, and increasing income through skills. We will support and guide the majority of workers to participate in training, improve their skills, find good jobs, and use their skills to create a bright future. Thank you. 2025-04-28 11:16:00
Phoenix TV reporter : We have noticed that after the United States imposed high tariffs on China, many foreign trade companies have encountered many difficulties in exporting to the United States. I would like to ask what specific measures the Ministry of Commerce will take to help these companies in the next step? Thank you. 2025-04-28 11:32:38
Sheng Qiuping : Thank you for your question. Since the beginning of this year, the risks and challenges facing China's foreign trade development have increased significantly, especially the United States' arbitrary unilateral tariffs, which have undermined China-US economic and trade cooperation. However, our foreign trade enterprises have firm confidence in development, and various policies to stabilize foreign trade have continued to be implemented and effective. As Director Chen Xin just said, our foreign trade exports grew by 6.9% in the first quarter. According to the monitoring and forecast of business big data, exports have generally continued to grow steadily since April. In order to help foreign trade enterprises actively respond to external risks and challenges, we will adhere to the goal-oriented and problem-oriented approach, focus on the needs of enterprises, solve difficult problems in a timely manner, and implement the policies that have been issued to stabilize foreign trade with a spirit of perseverance, continue to enrich the policy toolbox for stabilizing foreign trade, and introduce new incremental policy measures in a timely manner. The key points include:
First, accelerate the reform of the integration of domestic and foreign trade. On April 22, the Ministry of Commerce, together with the National Development and Reform Commission and other relevant departments, issued a "package" of policies to help foreign trade enterprises expand domestic sales and accelerate the integration of domestic and foreign trade. Through the dual-wheel drive of "policy + activities", the support for enterprises that are more affected by tariffs in four aspects, namely market channels, domestic consumption, fiscal and financial services, and service guarantees, will be increased. First, we will increase the support of "real money" and promote "three increases and three reductions". "Three increases" means that the government will increase fiscal funds, financial institutions will increase credit support, and insurance institutions will increase domestic trade insurance support. "Three reductions" means promoting the reduction of house rents, booth fees, and traffic fees for enterprises in difficulty, and reducing the domestic sales costs of foreign trade enterprises. We are carrying out the "Foreign Trade Quality Products Tour" activity across the country. The main content is "1+10+N", that is, holding a launch ceremony, focusing on the top 10 foreign trade and consumption provinces, and holding a series of key activities. On April 13, we have held a launch ceremony in Hainan, and the activities of the local stations of the Foreign Trade Quality Products Tour have been carried out one after another. Actively promote foreign trade enterprises such as automobiles, home appliances, 3C, and home decoration to join the "old for new" support scope. In key industries such as light industry, textiles and clothing, and food, we will carry out in-depth production and marketing docking, brand docking, and channel docking, and give full play to the extensive participation of local governments, associations, e-commerce platforms, and large supermarkets in the "Foreign Trade Quality Products Tour" activities, and work together to cope with external risks and challenges.
Second, help open up international diversified markets. The second phase of the 137th Canton Fair came to an end yesterday, with 224,000 overseas buyers from 219 countries and regions around the world attending the fair, setting a record high for the same period. We will continue to play the platform role of leading exhibitions such as the Canton Fair, increase the support for preferential policies for fee reduction and exemption of domestic exhibitions, strengthen foreign trade and economic funds for international exhibitions, and create a good market development environment for enterprises. We will also provide more public information services for foreign trade enterprises, compile and publish foreign trade promotion information, country trade guides, etc., provide foreign trade enterprises with information on the business environment, supply and demand of relevant countries, and continuously improve the overseas trade service system.
Third, strengthen trade financial support and guarantee. We will work with relevant departments to further expand the scale and coverage of export credit insurance, so that foreign trade enterprises will have more confidence to accept orders. Guide financial institutions to increase financing support for foreign trade enterprises, give full play to the role of the financing coordination mechanism for small and micro enterprises, promote low-cost funds to reach small and micro foreign trade enterprises, optimize exchange rate hedging services for foreign trade enterprises, and enrich the toolbox.
Fourth, accelerate the innovative development of cross-border e-commerce. Last year, China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 2.63 trillion yuan, up 10.8% year-on-year, becoming a new driving force for stabilizing foreign trade. In the face of changes in the external situation, we have accelerated the innovative development of new foreign trade formats such as cross-border e-commerce. Last week, the State Council agreed to set up cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones in 15 cities (regions) including Hainan Island and Qinhuangdao, and China's cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones have expanded to 178. We will promote the implementation of the newly established comprehensive pilot zones as soon as possible, and at the same time vigorously carry out special actions such as cross-border e-commerce empowerment industrial belts, brand cultivation, and international cooperation to promote the upgrading of the construction of comprehensive pilot zones.
When meeting with representatives of the international business community, President Xi Jinping pointed out that China is unwavering in promoting reform and opening up, and the door to opening up will only open wider and wider. Recently, the "Work Plan for Accelerating the Comprehensive Pilot Program for Expanding the Opening-up of the Service Industry" was issued. We are stepping up efforts to speed up the opening-up of key industries such as telecommunications, medical care, and finance, and actively promote the expansion of the opening-up of the service industry. Next, we will continue to promote high-level opening up, actively expand imports, build China's super-large market into a large market shared by the world, inject new impetus into global economic development, actively connect with international high-standard economic and trade rules, and promote high-level opening up in the service trade and investment fields.
Faced with a complex and changing international situation, China will respond to the uncertainty of the external environment with the certainty of expanding high-level opening up, and continuously improve the level of economic and trade cooperation with trading partners. Thank you. 2025-04-28 11:33:14
First Financial Daily : This year, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a symposium on private enterprises, which pointed out the direction and strengthened the confidence of the development of private enterprises. Recently, the Sino-US trade war has escalated again, bringing new problems and challenges to the development of private enterprises. What policy arrangements does the People's Bank of China have in terms of financial support for the development of private enterprises? Thank you. 2025-04-28 11:34:00
https://interview.mofcom.gov.cn/detail/202504/ff808081967a94ce01967b120e6d007e.html
