China must unblock internal circulation, No 4 official says in warning of weak domestic demand

Wang Huning says ‘smoothing out domestic circulation’ would give China a boost in international economic cooperation and competition

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Wang Huning, head of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, says the nation needs to smooth out domestic circulation. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 7:30pm, 9 Jul 2024Updated: 7:37pm, 9 Jul 2024

Beijing’s chief theoretician has called for a consolidation of leadership’s dual-circulation economic strategy that prioritises domestic demand, ahead of the Communist Party’s tone-setting third plenum, according to official media.

The domestic market, or the internal leg of that approach, would be of central importance to China’s new growth structure and needs to function more smoothly to shield the economy against global uncertainties, said Wang Huning, head of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), at a meeting of the political advisory body on Monday.

A strategy that kicked off four years ago amid rising geological rivalries, with an eye on seeking greater self-reliance while remaining open to the outside world, it was China’s “strategic deployment to seize the initiative in development”, the party’s No 4 official was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency.

The policy was reiterated as economic activity remains weak and low revenue and profits continue to trouble the private sector, adding pressure on leadership’s economic growth goal of 5 per cent growth for all of China this year.

“Smoothing out domestic circulation is a strategic choice to boost economic growth and create new advantages for our international economic cooperation and competition,” Wang said at Monday’s meeting.