MNI China Press Digest Jan 10: 5% Growth, SMEs, Car Sales

Highlights from Chinese press reports on Wednesday:

• China is expected to grow about 5% in 2024, with the real-estate market likely to stabilise by year-end, according to a report by Academic Center for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking (ACCEPT). The country’s actual growth rate in 2023 will be about 4.5% if excluding the low base effect, lower than the average annual growth of 4.59% required to achieve the 2035 goal of per capita GDP reaching the level of moderately developed countries, the report said, urging for pro-growth actions. Head of ACCEPT Li Daokui said the fundamental problem that needs to be solved urgently is the emphasis on standardised and orderly social governance, which has a strong contractionary effect on economic development. (Source: 21st Century Business Herald)
• China's SME development index decreased by 0.1 pp in Q4 2023 to 89.1, below the prosperity threshold of 100, according to the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises. Overall the index averaged 89.2 in 2023, higher than 88.4 in 2022 but lower than 89.6 in 2021. Surveyed firms showed a fall in all sub-indices showing China’s SME recovery remains a long and challenging process, according to the association. (Source: Yicai)
• China’s automobile sales including passenger cars and commercial vehicles exceeded 30 million units in 2023, with the trend of annual auto production and sales expected to reach 40 million in future, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Car sales are expected to achieve y/y growth before the Chinese New Year with electric vehicles providing strong support, said Cui Dongshu, secretary general at the CPCA. Meanwhile, China’s auto export sales hit a record high in 2023 with y/y growth of 62% to reach CNY3.83 million, among which new energy vehicles accounted for 1.04 million, a rise of 430,000 units from 2022. (Source: National Business Daily)