China's top economic planner stresses sound development in 2023

BEIJING -- China's top economic planner has stressed efforts to properly implement the country's optimized epidemic response while better coordinating epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development in 2023.

Reform and development authorities at all levels nationwide should work hard to stabilize growth, employment and prices, and vigorously boost market confidence, He Lifeng, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a work conference Wednesday.

The authorities should actively expand effective domestic demand and give full play to the basic role of consumption and the key role of investment to promote the overall growth of the economy.

He urged thorough efforts to break through the bottlenecks that hinder high-quality development, and strengthen high-level self-reliance in science and technology. Work should be done to accelerate the development of a modern industrial system, build a modern logistics system, while actively and prudently promoting carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

The country will promote the construction of a high-level socialist market economic system and advance high-level opening-up, while making solid progress on implementing major regional and urban-rural strategic plans to ensure people's wellbeing.

He also noted that measures should be taken to improve the ability to guard against and defuse major risks, and strengthen the security of food, energy and resources, as well as important industrial and supply chains.