The third annual session of the 14th National People's Congress will open in Beijing on March 5, 2025. The proposed agenda for the annual session includes reviewing the government work report, the report on the implementation of the annual plan for national economic and social development for 2024, and the draft national economic and social development plan for 2025.

Meanwhile, the third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is proposed to open in Beijing on March 4, 2025.

Ahead of the "two sessions," ministries of the State Council of the People's Republic of China submitted reports on the implementation of last year's proposals to deputies of the National People's Congress and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The proposals received during last year's "two sessions" were reflected in more than 2,000 state programs and events.

Representatives of the ministries reported this at a briefing organized by the State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China before the start of the new political season.

Last spring, deputies of the National People's Congress submitted 8,700 proposals, and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference submitted more than 4,800. Many of them had a significant impact on environmental, financial, innovation, and public administration issues in the country.

At the briefing, Deputy Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China Jiang Wanrong spoke about the work carried out in the field of housing and urban development in 2024:

-Housing and urban-rural development are related to people's well-being on the one hand, and the overall development of the country on the other. In 2024, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development reviewed 805 proposals and began implementing key tasks such as "accelerating the construction of affordable housing", "supporting the smooth transformation of cities and rural areas", and "upgrading urban infrastructure".

Deputy Minister of Civil Affairs Tang Chengpei touched upon the topic of social services for the elderly:

-The development of community service centers for home care of the elderly meets their needs. Last year, the Ministry of Civil Affairs received 87 proposals related to this topic. At present, 367,000 community service centers and centers for home care of the elderly have been established across the country. At the national and regional levels, 446 network institutions have been established.

The country's marine economy is expected to exceed 10 trillion yuan in 2024, according to a report released Monday by the Ministry of Natural Resources. Notably, the service sector contributed the most to the growth of the marine economy, accounting for 59.6 percent of the total revenue. Marine manufacturing remained the main driver of economic growth, accounting for more than 30 percent of the industry's added value.

Offshore wind power entered a new growth phase, increasing annual power generation by 30 percent. Marine engineering equipment manufacturing has maintained the largest share of the global market for seven years and continued to recover.

China's National Bureau of Statistics reported that the country's GDP grew 5 percent, with new high-quality manufacturing capabilities driving economic growth last year.

Official data shows that China's GDP in 2024 increased by 5% from 2023 to reach 134.9 trillion yuan.

In terms of tourism, the number of international trips to China under the visa-free program was 20 million, up 112% year-on-year.

The total number of foreign visits to China reached 146 million. According to preliminary estimates, China's GDP in 2024 will be 134.9 trillion yuan, up 5% year-on-year.

The number of arrivals to China amounted to 138.9 million, an increase of 60.8%. The number of visits to China under the visa-free program increased by 112.3% to reach 20.12 million. The number of outbound trips by Chinese citizens was 145.89 million.

The primary sector’s added value accounted for 6.8% of GDP, the secondary sector for 36.5%, and the tertiary sector for 56.7%. The contribution of consumer spending to GDP growth increased by 2.2%.

The production of new energy vehicles increased by 38.7% to 13.168 million units. The production of solar panels increased by 15.6% to 0.68 billion kW. The production of service robots increased by 15.6% to 10.519 million units.

The number of 3D printers increased by 11.3% to 3.418 million units. Operating income of strategically developing service sectors among enterprises above the established size increased by 7.9% compared with last year.

Investment in high-tech industries increased by 8%, and investment in technological upgrading of manufacturing also increased by 8%.

E-commerce turnover increased by 3.9% to 46.409.1 billion yuan, and online retail sales increased by 7.2% to 15.228.7 billion yuan.

In 2024, there were registered 27.37 million new enterprises, averaging 24,000 new companies per day.

The promotion of green and low-carbon development continued. According to preliminary data, carbon dioxide emissions in 2024 decreased by 3.4% compared with the previous year.

The retail turnover of consumer goods reached 48.334.5 billion yuan, an increase of 3.5% year on year. Online retail sales of physical goods increased by 6.5% year-on-year to reach 12.787.8 billion yuan, accounting for 26.5% of total retail turnover.

China's total import and export volume in 2024 was 43.846.8 billion yuan, an increase of 5%. Scientific research expenditure in 2024 reached 3.613 billion yuan, an increase of 8.3% compared with 2023, accounting for 2.68% of GDP.

Growing confidence in the AI ​​industry and business transformation at the global level is attracting more and more foreign companies to China. Foreign organizations, especially in the AI ​​sector, are optimistic about the Chinese market due to its growing potential.

The development of DeepSeek has become a catalyst, attracting significant amounts of foreign investment. UBS analysts noted that China's growth in AI will have a positive impact on various industries.

At the same time, China is improving the business environment for international companies. The government has unveiled a plan to stabilize foreign investment in the country, including opening up sectors such as telecommunications and medical services.

ORIENT