Reforms Prop up Growth

Chinas economy grew 6.9 percent in the first half of 2017. This figure somewhat reduces the worry that Chinas economic slowdown will cast a shadow over the world economy. In the past two years， the rhetoric about the collapse of Chinas economy has continued to resurge from time to time. However， the economic growth of the past one and a half years shows a steady and upbeat momentum.

The Chinese Governments deepening of reform and innovation efforts as well as the supply-side structural reform are essential for the upward trend of Chinas economy.

In the first half of this year， a lot has been achieved in terms of supply-side structural reform， with excess capacity being reduced in an orderly manner， real estate sector seeing continuous reduction in housing inventory and enterprises leverage ratios and production costs being further lowered. Weak links were also bolstered in the first half： The growth of investment in certain sectors—environmental protection and management， water management， transport， storage and post service， and education—have all surpassed the growth of fixed asset investments over the same period.

The supply-side structural reform has improved the structure of Chinas economic growth. In the first half of 2017， domestic demands contribution to the economy reached 96.1 percent， while consumption became the major engine of Chinas economic growth. This is good news for the rest of the world.

The achievements of the supply-side reform are also reflected in Chinas steady growth trend， good employment situation， stable commodity prices and also increasing residential incomes. Chinas economic growth rate has stayed in the range of 6.7-6.9 percent for eight consecutive quarters. The urban surveyed unemployment rate has been kept below 5 percent for two consecutive months. In the fi rst half of this year， CPI only increased by 2.1 percent year on year； residents disposable income registered actual growth of 7.3 percent， 0.8 percentage points higher than the same period of last year.

The Chinese Governments preventive measures against economic risks are an important reason for the steady pace of economic growth. During the National Financial Work Conference， held on July 14-15， systematic requirements were put forward to protect against fi nancial risks. Its thus safe to say that China will not see any economic crisis stemming from fi nancial issues at the current stage.

However， we should never let our guard down， given the various unstable factors in the world and also the accumulated domestic structural imbalance. China will press ahead with supply-side structural reform and promote innovation-based development to ensure steady， sound and sustainable economic development.