Advisers: Keep faith in economy

Challenges and opportunities coexist in the major economic changes currently faced by the world. If handled properly, the changes will bring huge opportunities to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, said a member of China's top political advisory body.

The quality of Chinese economic growth has significantly improved in spite of a slowdown, said Justin Yifu Lin, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, while delivering a speech at the Second Plenary Meeting of the Second Session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee on Saturday.

China has launched supply-side structural reform with more efforts focusing on cutting overcapacity, reducing excess inventory, deleveraging, lowering costs, and strengthening areas of weakness.

"Over the past three years, transformation of traditional industries has accelerated and the fostering of new economic drivers has also sped up, making noticeable changes to the relationship between supply and demand of major industries," Lin said.

Looking ahead, China should maintain its strategic focus, grasp the principal contradiction of economic operation, and seek breakthroughs in economic reform. In the next two years, there is still huge room for greater efforts to lower costs and strengthen areas of weakness, he added.

In addition to industrial upgrading, he said China should devote more investment to inner-city infrastructure construction, take the investment opportunities brought by the commercialization of fifth-generation mobile network services, and shore up weaknesses in pollution prevention and control.

Li Daokui, another member of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, agreed with Lin on keeping faith in China's economy.

"Our country still remains in an important period of strategic opportunities for its development. The challenges we face today are essentially 'growing pains', and we have unshakable confidence," Li said at the plenary meeting on Saturday.

He advised the Chinese government and people to deal with these challenges with a calm and open mindset.

" Frictions between China and other countries will keep arising. Taking a long-term perspective, we will see that some of the seemingly aggressive demands, although causing pain to us over a short period, will force us to deepen reform. ... But we must firmly reject those demands that hinder us from making innovations and industrial upgrading," he said.

China should protect private property rights and ensure fair competition between public and private companies so that entrepreneurs are keen to invest in emerging industries and are willing to withdraw from industries that have excess capacity.

The country should also build a strong economic foundation by increasing low-income groups' revenue and consumption through a number of measures, including accelerating reform of the social security system, cutting employment taxes and fees, and advancing reform of the household registration system, Li said.