Reference News website reported on May 18 that according to a report from the Hong Kong South China Morning Post website on May 16, Beijing is doubling down on efforts to build a more powerful domestic market because even with the trade war between China and the US entering a temporary ceasefire period, China remains committed to reducing its vulnerability to external tariff shocks. It was reported that Premier Li Qiang said on May 15 that the strategic focus of development should be placed on strengthening the domestic large-scale circulation - a concept referring to enhancing the self-reliance and strength of China's economy by building a strong, unified domestic market. Premier Li Qiang emphasized at the State Council meeting chaired by Vice Premier Ding Xueyang that China needs to offset the uncertainty in international circulation with the intrinsic stability and long-term growth of the domestic large-scale circulation to promote steady and far-reaching economic development in China. The report stated that Beijing and Washington recently reached a provisional agreement to significantly reduce tariffs on each other's products within the next 90 days. Meanwhile, the two largest economies in the world will continue negotiations to reach an agreement to end the protracted trade war. Analysts pointed out that the confrontation with Washington seems to have increased the urgency for China to boost domestic demand and reduce economic dependence on overseas trade. Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist of Pin Yuan Asset Management Co., Ltd., said: "I think given the current trend of deglobalization, the Chinese government has realized that it can no longer rely on exports as the main growth driver." He added that the leadership in China has been talking about the need to enhance "domestic large-scale circulation" for many years, but now they seem "more determined" to advance this agenda, and "the government still needs to make greater efforts to translate this idea into concrete actions." It was reported that Beijing first proposed the concept of "domestic large-scale circulation" in 2020 and began discussing the broader "domestic-international dual circulation" strategy. The idea is that China will remain open to international trade and investment, but ensure a strong and basically self-sufficient domestic market as the "pillar" of the economy to prevent the country from being affected by foreign tariffs or export controls. At the meeting on May 15, Premier Li Qiang particularly highlighted the importance of accelerating the construction of a unified national large market, deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, the self-sufficiency of the industrial chain and supply chain, and the acceleration of addressing consumption shortcomings. He also emphasized promoting efficient connectivity between domestic and international markets and providing precise and effective assistance to foreign trade enterprises. Xu Tianchen, senior economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit, believes that long-term structural reforms - such as improving the social security system - are essential to unleashing domestic demand. He said: "Compared with short-term fiscal stimulus, long-term reforms are much more important. Only when people feel secure about their future will they be more willing to consume." Xu Tianchen suggested that China also needs to relax restrictions and open up more fields to non-state-owned enterprises, making the flow of personnel and capital more convenient. It was reported that on the same day, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said at a press conference that it would accelerate the cultivation of a unified technical market nationwide, break through regional barriers and market access restrictions in traditional technical markets, and promote the rapid transformation and cross-regional, cross-sectoral application of innovative achievements. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also stated that it would accelerate the transformation and upgrading of science and technology services and create "AI + Science and Technology Services" application scenarios. Additionally, seven departments including the Ministry of Science and Technology and the People's Bank of China jointly released a plan on May 14 to strengthen financial support for scientific and technological innovation. This document containing 15 measures promised to establish a "National Entrepreneurship Investment Guidance Fund" and use structural monetary policy tools such as rediscounting to support scientific and technological innovation. The document also required giving full play to the performance evaluation role of government investment funds to guide investments in early-stage, small-scale, long-term, and hard-tech ventures. (Translated by Cao Weiguo) Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7505597196893438483/ Disclaimer: This article only represents the views of the author. Welcome to express your opinions in the buttons below.