Highlights of press conference on economy at NPC session

China’s Annual Two Sessions 2025China’s top economic officials held a press conference on Thursday afternoon as part of the Two Sessions, with heads of China’s economic planner, finance and commerce ministries, central bank and securities regulator attending.China is fully confident in achieving the economic growth target of around 5 percent this year as there is solid foundation, support and guarantee, said Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planner.Zheng said China’s GDP target was the result of a “comprehensive and scientific” process, with “solid preparation” undertaken to come to the final number. There is new momentum driving growth, he added, citing the new industries and business modes which have contributed to 18 percent of China’s overall economy.An increase to domestic spending remains a priority, Zheng said, pointing to a 300 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds will be allocated to support the trade-in program for consumer goods and equipment in 2025.China will establish a national venture capital guidance fund in the near future with the aim of strengthening the development of innovative enterprises, Zheng added.Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said the trade-in program have been “bright spots” for China’s consumer market in the past year, adding that the categories will be expanded to include smartphones, tablets, smart watches and other consumer electronics. Meanwhile, new measures to promote consumption by foreign tourists will be implemented, Wang said, which include improving visa procedures and online payments methods.  Finance Minister Lan Fo’an said China has “reserved” enough of its tools to counter whatever uncertainties may come about in the external environment. He said the effects of last year’s stimulus package will be sustained, and new policies that are “stronger and more targeted” will be rolled out.Spending on tech, he added, will exceed 1.2 trillion yuan in 2025, an increase of 8.3 per cent over the year prior.As for local debts, Lan said local governments had issued 2.96 trillion yuan in debt-swap bonds as of yesterday, and the interest rates of local debts has been lowered by 2.5 percentage points.The number of local government financing vehicles, previously a source of the lion’s share of implicit government debt, has fallen since last year, Lan said. The next step, he added, will be transforming the business of those vehicles that still exist.In terms of monetary policy, the People’s Bank of China will cut interest rates and the reserve requirement ratio at an “appropriate time” this year, central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said.He emphasized the need to keep the yuan’s exchange rate stable and cautions against overshooting.In response to how innovation will be financed, Pan said more bond issuances and relending tools will be used to aid in the country’s tech development. A tech-focused segment of the bond market will be launched to back these issuances, he added.The size of the relending tool for tech innovation will be doubled to 1 trillion yuan this year, Pan announced.Wu Qing, head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said the unexpected success of artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek has helped usher in a re-evaluation of China’s stocks, vowing to improve capital market support mechanisms for tech firms, with a focus on those sectors that are actively working on new breakthroughs.On stock market regulation, Wu said China will redouble efforts to clamp down on irregularities in the stock market, and ensure that investors are protected.Coordination and countercyclical adjustments will be strengthened between primary and secondary markets, Wu added, noting that this will drive listed companies to improve their ability to deliver stronger returns to investors.Meanwhile, corporate mergers and acquisitions will be promoted among tech firms. He encouraged the use of “patient capital”, funding with an eye on the long-term, and said tools besides stock listings would be used to support scientific innovation.In terms of foreign trade, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said the country’s service trade has surpassed 1 trillion yuan in value for the first time, and it now includes a more diverse range of partners. Trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative now account for more than half of all imports and exports – a development he deemed a historic milestone.Wang said there are “severe challenges” for Chinese imports, given global trends towards protectionism, and policies will be implemented to stabilize foreign trade, particularly in services.Enterprises will be assisted in securing orders and keeping their exports stable, and cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses will be expanded.Two Sessions highlightsLin Long'an, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from the Hong Kong SAR, proposed to further promote the cross-border e-commerce development of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) based on local industrial advantages as well as assistance with AI technologies. Lin, also the chairman of the GBA Importers and Exporters Association, said during the annual Two Sessions that the GBA, boasting abundant industrial cluster resources and a well-established cross-border e-commerce foundation, provides immense potential for the foreign trade development of the area, while noting that the construction of the GBA brings both opportunities and challenges for the foreign trade sector.Xinjiang should leverage its strategic position as the gateway for China's westward opening-up, and continue expanding high-level opening-up efforts this year, several NPC deputies and the CPPCC National Committee members from Xinjiang have suggested. They also urged the region to ramp up economic exchanges with Central Asian countries as well as exploring markets in ASEAN, the Middle East and Africa.Geely insists on not engaging in price wars, as it aims to compete over technology, quality, services, brand, and ethics, Li Shufu, CPPCC member and chairman of the Chinese automotive giant, told media during the Two Sessions yesterday.Li Dongsheng, an NPC deputy and founder and chairman of TCL, suggested yesterday at the Two Sessions that Chinese regulators may develop financing policies that meet the needs of large technology manufacturers, as the sector is characterized by high-tech, heavy assets, and long payback period.Next on industry and company newsAlibaba today released Tongyi Qwen QwQ-32B, a new open-source AI model focusing on advancing AI reasoning capabilities that can compete with DeepSeek-R1, the Chinese tech giant said.Chinese AI team Manus released its homonym general AI agent product able to perform complicated tasks, such as resume screening, property research, and stock analysis. Manus achieved the State-of-the-Art level according to the GAIA benchmark and outperformed OpenAI DeepResearch in solving real-world problems.China’s average daily AI model token usage surged 33-fold in the past eight months, of which paid token usage grew 15 times, Yang Chaobin, CEO of Huawei's ICT BU, said at the MWC2025. Huawei expects the token-driven traffic volume to exceed 350 percent of the total mobile internet data traffic by 2030, he added.Xpeng Motors plans to enter the Polish, Swiss, Czech, and Slovakian markets in the second quarter with its P7 sedan, G9 SUV, and G6 SUV, the Chinese NEV startup said yesterday on Weibo. Xpeng hopes to be present in more than 60 global markets by the end of the year, with overseas sales accounting for more than half of the total.Douyin has introduced a series of initiatives to support small- and medium-sized businesses joining the platform. The program includes subsidies, commission reductions, and free training programs, Douyin announced yesterday.China Eastern Airlines will launch direct flights between Shanghai and Abu Dhabi starting April 28, becoming the first Chinese airline to run the route.  Hong Kong will charge HKD200 instead of HKD120 for departure tax per air passenger starting Oct. 1. The new measure will likely bring around HKD1.6 billion a year to the local government.Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock marketChinese stocks rallied on Thursday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite gained 1.2 percent and the Shenzhen Component added 1.7 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 3.3 percent and the TECH index rallied 5.4 percent.