Escorting the Steady Development of the Economy, Xinhua News Agency's Mid Year Economic Research Tour | Interview Notes: Macro Policy of Midstream Flooding

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 17th - Interview notes: Midstream hits the water, escorting the steady progress of the economy

Xinhua News Agency reporter

Policies are intangible, but things are sound.

Economic development cannot be separated from policy protection, and macroeconomic policies are an important means of stabilizing the economy. In the first half of this year, China's economy as a whole maintained a positive recovery trend. How much macroeconomic policy space is left in the second half of the year? How to use force more accurately and effectively?

With these questions in mind, Xinhua News Agency reporters have recently visited Chongqing, Hubei, Guangdong and other places, delving into multiple enterprises to observe how macro policies "bag" micro entities and further generate "chemical effects".

Forming, annealing, cutting, polishing... Walking into the production workshop of Longman Glass Products Co., Ltd. located in Jiulongpo District, Chongqing, I saw production lines running in an orderly manner, bustling with enthusiasm.

In the office building, company manager Wang Zhi calculated a "tax reduction" account for the reporter: in the past three years, he has enjoyed a total of over 280000 yuan in various tax reductions and exemptions; In the first half of this year, we enjoyed nearly 60000 yuan in tax and fee reductions.

"As a small and micro enterprise, we have experienced multiple challenges in recent years, such as unstable orders and the impact of the epidemic. The tax and fee reduction policy has effectively improved the company's cash flow, reducing a considerable burden on us," said Wang Zhi.

The word "reduce" expresses the company's expectation for light and healthy development.

"Effectively alleviated financial pressure", "helped us overcome difficulties during the epidemic", "reduced taxes and fees, increased vitality"... In the research, where the reporter went, large or small enterprises affirmed the effectiveness of tax and fee reduction policies from different perspectives.

"In order to accurately deliver tax and fee dividends to business entities, we have streamlined the process and materials for enjoying preferential policies, and pushed policy information point-to-point through electronic tax bureaus and tax enterprise interaction platforms, striving to achieve 'door-to-door policy delivery'." said Song Bin, Director of the Policy and Regulations Department of Chongqing Taxation Bureau.

Reducing taxes and fees is the key to enhancing the effectiveness of proactive fiscal policies, which benefits both the present and the future.

927.9 billion yuan - this is the newly added scale of tax reduction and fee deferment in the first half of this year, with small and medium-sized enterprises feeling the most obvious about it.

In recent years, under a series of tax and fee reduction policies, the proportion of tax revenue to China's GDP has decreased from about 17% in 2018 to 13.8% in 2022. Excluding the one-time impact of large-scale tax deductions and refunds, the tax burden level is about 15%.

Exchange the reduction of fiscal revenue for the increase of enterprise vitality.

During the interview, local finance officials told reporters that the tax and fee reduction policy not only strongly supports enterprises in reducing their burdens and relieving difficulties, but also causes a slowdown in the growth of fiscal revenue.

In addition to tax reduction and expenditure increase, it is another focus of active fiscal policy.

Since the beginning of this year, facing the prominent contradiction of insufficient total demand, fiscal expenditure arrangements have shown a "boost" everywhere: the deficit rate is arranged at 3%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from 2022; The quota for newly added local government special debts is 3.8 trillion yuan, an increase of 150 billion yuan from the previous year; Further increase central to local transfer payments.

On one hand, there is a tense balance of income and expenditure, and on the other hand, there is an increasing demand for expenditure. Whether limited funds can be effectively used on the cutting edge is a test question for local governments.

During a survey in Nanzhang County, Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, the reporter learned that a special bond fund is "landing and blossoming", which not only focuses on expanding investment but also effectively benefits people's livelihoods.

300 new beds, a more spacious and comfortable ward, and more electronic hospitalization information management... At Nanzhang County People's Hospital, the reporter saw a light yellow nine story modern building, with the words "surgical building" particularly eye-catching in the sunlight.

Vice President Yuan Qiming introduced that the building, which was completed and put into use in June last year, has improved the hospital's diagnosis and treatment environment. Of the total investment of over 80 million yuan in project construction, 30 million yuan comes from local government special bonds.

"In the context of very limited financial growth, local government special bond funds are particularly valuable. We have put effort into selecting projects, prioritizing major infrastructure and key livelihood guarantee projects, while quickly forming physical workload," said Guo Jidong, Director of the Finance Bureau of Nanzhang County, Hubei Province.

Strengthening the focus of attention is a profound feeling that journalists have gained from conducting research in multiple locations.

Liaoning has arranged a special bond fund of 4.9 billion yuan for local governments this year, focusing on supporting major infrastructure projects such as the Shenbai high-speed railway and the Beijing Harbin expressway; Guangdong has arranged a special bond fund of 318 million yuan to support the construction of a cold chain logistics backbone network for public agricultural products in Guangdong, and to help fill the gaps in county-level infrastructure; Sichuan Special Bond Funds Focus on Supporting the Reconstruction, Expansion, and Capacity Enhancement of Public Hospitals

In the face of complex fiscal revenue and expenditure situations, financial departments in many regions have taken the initiative to further compress non rigid and non urgent expenditures, optimize expenditure structures, and ensure that each fund is used on the cutting edge and in critical situations.

Monetary policy is another important means of macroeconomic regulation.

In recent years, against the backdrop of most major economies around the world adopting loose monetary policies, China's monetary policy has remained stable, providing strong support for the real economy and avoiding "flooding", guiding the formation of reasonable market expectations.

Through research and communication with various types of entrepreneurs, journalists listened to their analysis of industry prospects and discussions on how to apply for government rewards. They found that they are very concerned about every new trend in macroeconomic policies, and their common expectation is to receive sufficient and low-cost financial support.

Traveling south from Hubei to Guangdong, the reporter arrived at Guangdong Xinglian Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. located in Foshan City.

Entering this garden like "green factory", it is difficult for journalists to connect it with the traditional mold factory.

The sample display room is filled with plastic bottles from various brands with two walls, showcasing the scientific research strength of the "invisible champion" in the field of blow molding molds: 92 invention patents have been applied for, 229 utility model patents have been obtained, 71 appearance patents have been obtained, and 12 national standards have been drafted

"Many scientific research projects of the company have received credit funding support, which is crucial for our development. This year, the company has new research topics and needs to invest more funds," Jiang Xiaoping, the general manager of the company, told reporters.

For this reason, Bank of China Foshan Branch, which has been cooperating with the enterprise, has provided sufficient medium and long-term loans. As of the end of June, the balance of RMB loans for enterprises in Bank of China exceeded 20 million yuan.

"We also use the technology innovation refinancing tool created by the People's Bank of China last year to further reduce financing costs for enterprises. Currently, we have issued loans of over 3 billion yuan to more than 300 science and technology innovation enterprises such as Xinglian Precision," said Weng Zuolin, President of Bank of China Foshan Branch.

Economy is the body, while finance is the bloodline.

The stability and sustainability of the total credit growth continue to enhance, supporting enterprises and financial institutions to "coexist and prosper". This is more evident in financial data: RMB loans increased by 16.08 trillion yuan in the first seven months of this year, an increase of 1.67 trillion yuan year-on-year.

Along the way, reporters have increasingly felt that in recent years, both fiscal and monetary policies have focused on watering and fertilizing the development of business entities from the root, which is the focus of China's macroeconomic policy allocation.

The real economy is the foundation of a country's economy. The guidance conveyed by macroeconomic policies is crucial for stabilizing expectations.

During the survey, the reporter also learned that companies have more expectations: "We still have problems with insufficient orders and high costs", "Future expectations are unclear, and there is currently not much investment and financing demand"

The Politburo meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in late July issued a clear signal: "We must implement macroeconomic regulation accurately and effectively, strengthen countercyclical regulation and policy reserves."

In recent years, while China has made precise efforts in macroeconomic regulation, there is still room for improvement, and the policy toolbox is still sufficient.

Recently, departments such as the National Development and Reform Commission, the People's Bank of China, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Administration of Taxation have successively expressed their views on planning precise policy directions.

During the investigation, the reporter deeply felt that under the impact of the epidemic, both management departments and business entities have experienced storms and seen rainbows, deepening their understanding of the regularity of doing economic work well. They also have more confidence and confidence to face difficulties and respond to challenges.

"The current economic operation is like hitting water in the middle stream. We need to work hard and work hard to implement more precise and effective macroeconomic regulation, implement various policies in detail, and effectively promote the sustained recovery and high-quality development of the economy." said Li Chengjian, Director of the Second Research Office of the Macro Economic Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council.