What is the economic situation in China? Are there pessimistic views about manufacturing?

In recent years， the phenomenon of manufacturing enterprises moving overseas has been widely concerned by the market. At the press conference on July 16th， 2019， the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC） took stock of the macroeconomic operation in the half a year and gave a positive response to the hot issues that have received much attention.

Response 1 Faced with pressure and firm confidence， Chinas long-term economic fundamentals remain unchanged

Data can most accurately reflect the operation of the economy. Meng Wei， spokesman of the NDRC， explained the general situation of Chinas economy from five aspects.

“Generally speaking， Chinas economy has a strong self-circulation ability， sufficient supply of industrial and agricultural products， and stable price operation has a strong foundation. It is expected that the overall price level will remain stable in the later part of this year.” Meng Wei said， but also to see that Chinas economic development is still facing a complex domestic and international environment. From the external environment， the uncertainties have increased， the growth of world economy and trade has slowed down at the same time， and the geopolitical instability and the risks of economic operation have increased. From the internal environment， the solution of the longstanding structural and institutional contradictions in China needs a process. The economic operation is facing new downward pressure. There are still many real economic difficulties， and there are still many shortcomings in the field of peoples livelihood.

Response 2 We have done a good job of energy security in summer

Meng Wei said that overall judgment， during peak summer， the demand for coal， electricity， oil and gas transportation will increase substantially， and there are still safeguard pressures in some areas during peak period. It is preliminarily predicted that the peak daily electricity consumption will reach about 24.5 billion kWh during peak summer this year， and the peak load will be higher than last years peak level.

Response 3 Manufacturing enterprises relocation is a normal phenomenon with small scale and controllable impact.

Recently， from time to time， there have been media reports that Chinas industrial chain and supply chain have moved overseas under the influence of Sino-US economic and trade frictions， even have the pessimistic views about Chinas manufacturing industry.

“In this regard， we should have an objective and rational analysis.” Meng Wei responded positively that since the reform and opening up， Chinas manufacturing industry has made remarkable achievements， with a large scale and complete categories. It plays an important role in the international industrial division of labor. It not only has contributed to the stable， healthy and sustainable development of Chinas economy， but also has provided high-quality and low-cost products for the countries of the world， creating a huge market space for enterprises of all countries.

Meng Wei said that in recent years， with the deepening adjustment of international industrial division and global industrial layout， Chinas manufacturing industry has entered a new stage of transformation， upgrading and high-quality development. In this process， it is normal for some enterprises to set up factories abroad. Through in-depth investigation and analysis， it is found that some enterprises are transferring to places where labor and environmental protection costs are relatively low， taking into account the changes in factor prices. Some enterprises are actively exploring the international market based on their own develop- ment strategy needs. Of course， few enterprises are trying to avoid the impact of Sino-US economic and trade frictions. However， it is not easy for enterprises to move abroad. Many factors need to be considered， including operating costs， industrial workers， supply chain matching， transportation and even manufacturing culture. Over the past two years， we have also noticed that some enterprises that have moved abroad have returned to China because of their unacceptable conditions. In recent research， we learned that many shoemaking enterprises from Dongguan closed down their factories in Southeast Asia for various reasons and returned to domestic market.

“So from what we know at present， the scale of Chinas manufacturing industry migration is not large， and mainly in the low-end enterprises， the impact on Chinas economic growth， industrial upgrading， employment and other aspects of overall controllable.” Meng Wei said that next step， the NDRC will continue to promote the high-quality development of manufacturing industry with relevant parties， focusing on giving full play to the advantages of Chinas industrial system and domestic market， focusing on the following four aspects： deepening market-oriented reform and expanding high-level openness； enhance vitality， release the potential of domestic demand market； strive to fill the shortcomings of industrial chain， improve the level of industrial chain； strive to create an international first-class business environment， and further enhance the attraction of manufacturing industry development. It is believed that with a series of policies and measures coming into effect， the vast majority of enterprises will continue to stay in China for further development， and more enterprises will come to China to invest in the industry and seek new and greater development.