China’s annual policy-setting conference has closed with a series of commitments to deliver economic stability. The three-day session pledged to guarantee growth in the face of a grim outlook for the global economy in 2012.
Laying out a blueprint of economic policy in the year ahead, China’s policy-makers say stabilizing growth will be a key target for 2012. The country’s economic growth slowed for three straight quarters, a downward risk for the world’s second biggest economy. An economist from the World Bank says China’s economy faces twin risks - from both the international and domestic markets.
Ardo Hansson, lead economist of World Bank, said, "There are external factors, but also what’s going on in property markets in China... many more risks on the downside, more negative possibilities than positive possibilities."
Policy-makers also promised to stabilize consumer prices and avoid a rebound in inflation, which has fallen from a three-year high of 6.5 percent in July to 4.2 percent in November.
China will maintain prudent monetary and pro-active fiscal policies, but at the same time, is ready to fine-tune its monetary policies when necessary.
Hansson said, "Inflation has been brought down now, not to suddenly go to the other extreme."
The policy-makers also aim at encouraging domestic consumption and optimizing investment structure to sustain economic growth in 2012. At the same time, China will see its policy on property market control through and aims to bring property prices under control.
How to maintain stable and relatively fast growth during this uncertain and sluggish world economic period will be the biggest challenge for China for next year. That, together with the need to stabilize prices and control the property market are also high on the government’s agenda. All this shows that 2012 will not be an easy year for China.