2023 policy focused on solid recovery
China DailyContainers are unloaded at Qingdao Port in Shandong province in March. Key Party meeting maps direction, major tasks for development next year Reviving the COVID-19-battered economy will be a key policy priority for China next year as the top leadership has sent a strong signal to push overall improvement of economic activity and substantially expand domestic demand, economists said on Thursday. The key Party meeting has mapped out the direction and major tasks for China's economic development next year and set the tone for the upcoming Central Economic Work Conference, which is scheduled to be held later this month to outline detailed policy goals for the Chinese economy in 2023. Economists said that the message from the top leadership is significant in terms of anchoring market expectations and boosting overall consumer confidence, and it is reasonable for China to aim for a GDP growth rate of around 5 percent next year as intensified policy support and optimization of the COVID containment measures will help create an economic rebound. "China may need to raise the fiscal budget deficit to around 3.2 percent next year in order to intensify fiscal support and improve its effectiveness," Lian said.