Press briefing on H1 economic data

Wall Street Journal:

Latest statistics show that China records a high debt rate. How dangerous is debt to China's economy? What kinds of measures will China take to tackle the debt?

Sheng Laiyun:

Thank you! The Chinese government has a high regard to the debt issue. Some relevant government agencies have been demanded to clear out the debts of local governments. According to the data released, we believe that the nation's current debt is still under control, and is still below the internationally recognized warning line. To curb the mounting debts of local governments, the Chinese government has issued several circulars demanding a stronger management and clearance of local debt. We think these measures are taking affect, and believe that China's debt level will continue to be kept below the warning line.

China Securities Journal：

I have two questions for Mr. Sheng. First of all, you just mentioned the development of certain industries, including those with high technology and proprietary intellectual property rights. How does the advancement of technology contribute to the development of our economy? Do you have specific numbers and examples to elaborate it? Secondly, during the introduction of micro stimulation policies to the economy, we noticed that the speed of fiscal expenditure was largely increasing, especially in May and June. How did fiscal expenditure promote the economic growth in the first half of the year? What are the main areas of fiscal expenditure in the next half and what's the proportion? Thank you.

Sheng Laiyun:

It needs to use methodology and basic data to measure the contribution of technology to the economic growth. We are working on the calculation currently and will devote greater efforts to improve the statistic method to include indexes that show the effect of technology innovation and advancement to the economy. In the first half of the year, the added value of high-tech industry has a 12.4 percent growth rate, 3.6 percentage points higher than the average level of industries above designated size. The full-covered online retail sales also increased by 48.3 percent, and the development of the new industries has showed the contribution of technological innovation. It is certain that the advancement of technology has increasingly supported the adjustment and transition of structure.

This year, the CPC central committee and the state council have adhered to the positive fiscal policies, which have a clear framework. The fiscal policies also play a greatly important role in stabilizing growth, improving reform and adjusting structure. Regarding the changes of fiscal expenditure, I suggest you to check with related departments and you will get more accurate information. Thank you.