How to assess the economic trends in the fourth quarter? How will the package of incremental policies continue to take effect? What major reforms are set to be implemented? Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission recently accepted an interview with Xinhua News Agency, providing in-depth analysis and interpretation of the current economic hot issues.

The fourth quarter economy has sufficient support for sustained recovery and improvement. According to relevant officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, with the effective implementation of existing policies and the accelerated introduction of new policies, positive changes have emerged in the economic operation since the month. Based on the current information available, some high-frequency data in the month have shown good growth trends, coupled with the 5.2% growth achieved by the Chinese economy in the first three quarters, laying a solid foundation for completing the annual target tasks. In the next step, the supporting effects of policies will accelerate. For example, the old-for-new policy for consumer goods is gradually releasing its pull on consumption, the role of government investment is better leveraged, and exports can maintain strong resilience. With the continuous efforts and effectiveness of existing policies and a package of incremental policies, the vitality and momentum of development will be further unleashed, providing sufficient support for the sustained recovery and improvement of the fourth quarter economy. It is expected that the annual target tasks can be completed satisfactorily.

Nearly half of the incremental policy measures have been introduced and implemented. According to relevant officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, around the package of incremental policies, nearly half of the measures have already been introduced and implemented. In the next step, a series of incremental policy measures will continue to be introduced and implemented, including maximizing the scope of special bond investment, appropriately expanding the areas, scale, and proportion of special bonds used as capital, clarifying the follow-up arrangements for phased policies for enterprises, increasing the standard of student financial aid and expanding the coverage of the policy, raising the national student loan limits for undergraduates and postgraduates and promoting a reduction in loan interest rates, among others. The National Development and Reform Commission will closely monitor changes in the situation, timely study new incremental policies, and coordinate the policy and work connections between this year and next, to promote the sustained recovery and improvement of the economy.

Accelerate the Implementation of Major Reform Measures It has been learned that the National Development and Reform Commission will expedite the introduction of a series of reform measures that are tangible and capable of effectively promoting sustained and healthy economic development. On one hand, efforts will be made to advance reforms aimed at stimulating the vitality of business entities. The National Development and Reform Commission will formulate a guidance catalog for the optimization and structural adjustment of the state-owned economy, further clarifying the functional orientations of different types of state-owned enterprises, creating greater space and a favorable environment for the development of the private sector, and fully unleashing the intrinsic drive and innovative vitality of various business entities. On the other hand, efforts will be made to advance the construction of a unified national market. The National Development and Reform Commission will soon issue guidance for the construction of a unified national market, further clarifying what local authorities "should do, should not do, and are encouraged to do." At the same time, it is necessary to accelerate the revision of the market access negative list, further reduce the number of negative list items, and ensure that various business entities can enter the market smoothly.

The list of "Two Billion Yuan" projects has been issued, and a package of incremental policies has been clarified to advance the issuance of next year's central budgetary investment plan and the list of "Two Billion Yuan" construction projects (national major strategic implementation and key areas' security capability construction) within this year. According to a relevant official from the National Development and Reform Commission, recently, the National Development and Reform Commission has worked closely with relevant industry departments and local governments to screen and determine the project list for the advance batch of "Two Billion Yuan" projects, based on criteria such as compliance with investment directions, maturity of preliminary work, and eligibility for issuance, and has issued it according to procedures. Among them, there are "Two Billion Yuan" construction projects, driving a total investment of about 100 billion yuan, and central budgetary investment plan projects, driving a total investment of about 100 billion yuan. The National Development and Reform Commission will work to accelerate the start and construction of projects, aiming to form physical work volume as soon as possible within the year, providing strong support for the growth of the fourth quarter.

Promoting More Private Capital to Participate in Major Project Construction The relevant official from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) introduced that with the rapid refinement and implementation of policies related to the private economy, the positive factors for the development of the private economy are continuously increasing. The NDRC has established a communication and coordination mechanism with the national supervisory and judicial authorities to address issues such as illegal cross-regional law enforcement and profit-driven law enforcement, as well as problems like arbitrary fines, inspections, and seizures; at the same time, it has strengthened monitoring and reminders of local confiscated income with relevant departments and local development systems. In the next step, the NDRC will work with relevant parties to further break down market access barriers, promote more private capital to participate in major infrastructure projects in the energy and transportation sectors; support capable private enterprises to lead in undertaking major national technological research tasks, open up national major scientific research infrastructures to private enterprises, and focus on optimizing the development environment for private technology companies to enhance the innovative development vitality of the private economy; improve the policy system for financing support for private enterprises, and strengthen the element support for the development of the private economy.

Further Releasing the Effects of the "Two New" Policies The relevant official from the National Development and Reform Commission introduced that after the introduction of several measures to further support the "Two New" (large-scale equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-in for new) in the month, the policy effects were quickly released, significantly boosting the economy, expanding investment, stimulating consumption, and accelerating transformation. To further release the effects of the "Two New" policies, the National Development and Reform Commission will continue to coordinate and monitor the progress, urging and reminding departments and regions with slow progress; actively coordinating with the Ministry of Commerce and other departments to guide local governments in simplifying the funding disbursement process and improving review efficiency, ensuring that the tangible benefits reach consumers directly; strictly investigating behaviors such as "raising prices before discounts" and "false discounts" that may occur during the consumer goods trade-in process; and organizing local governments to accelerate the improvement of recycling networks covering counties, towns, and villages to address issues of poor circulation in the recycling of waste home appliances and other products. It is understood that the National Development and Reform Commission is urgently conducting an evaluation of the effects of the "Two New" policies, proposing the overall arrangement, implementation methods, and support standards for continuing to support the "Two New" work next year, further promoting greater achievements in the "Two New" work.