National Development and Reform Commission news conference highlights

Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) held a news conference on Wednesday to detail the measures that China's government would take to further develop the country's economy, following the announcement of a raft of new measures in this year's government work report. Here are the highlights.

He Lifeng (C), head of the National Development and Reform Commission, Ning Jizhe (2nd R) and Lian Weiliang (2nd L), both deputy heads of the commission, attend a press conference on advancing the high-quality development of China's economy for the second session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2019. [Photo: Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan]

1. Maintaining steady economic progress

China's economy will maintain its steady momentum of growth and continue to meet the government's stated targets, and the government will continue to make efforts to improve the environment. China has made strides in fostering a better business environment, with the World Bank's global rating of the country's business environment rising from 78 to 46 in 2018.

2. Opening up to foreign investment

China's government will further open up its agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors. It will also reduce the number of industry sectors off-limits to foreign investment, and introduce legislation to better protect the rights of investors.

3. Growing the domestic market

China's 1.4 billion people make a gigantic domestic market for consumer goods. New industries, types of business, and business models have been rapidly developing, accounting for 15.7 percent of China's GDP last year. The spending power of consumers in China is continuing to grow, and sectors like elderly care, childcare, and home appliances provide massive market opportunities. The NDRC is implementing a raft of measures to boost consumption. The domestic market is expected to continue to expand thanks to these supportive policies and the growing availability of high-quality products and services.

4. Greater Bay Area

The government will take measures to improve the overall innovation capability in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. International science and technology innovation centers will be built between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and between Macao and Zhuhai. An innovation and technology corridor will also be developed in the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao region. And the Chinese Academy of Sciences will establish an innovation research institute in Hong Kong.