At present, the consumption structure is changing from mainly commodities to emphasizing both commodities and services. Consumers pay more attention to the quality of commodities and services. Green, smart, healthy and other consumer demands are constantly released... A series of new changes reflect the new trend of transformation and upgrading of the consumer market.
Just like this year's "Double 11", when many people refresh their shopping carts, they will find that the appearance of their consumption list has quietly changed: there are both time-honored and innovative goods, as well as the world's top goods debuting at the CIIE. Even previously unfamiliar categories such as computing power packages and digital services have become daily options for ordinary people. A small shopping cart contains the daily trivial choices of fireworks, and also hides the vivid code of the steady progress of China's economy and its new direction.
The "stability" of the economy is the sense of security that ordinary people can live. In October, the national CPI rose by 0.7% year-on-year, prices remained moderate, and daily consumption was always stable and orderly; the national autumn grain purchase has exceeded 100 million tons, and "rice bags" and "vegetable baskets" have been fully stocked and priced stably, firmly supporting the bottom line of people's livelihood; in the first three quarters, the per capita disposable income of rural residents actually increased by 5.6%, 2 percentage points faster than that of urban residents. The income gap between urban and rural areas continues to narrow, and the wallets are more bulging, and the confidence in consumption is naturally greater. Behind this stability lies the precise efforts of macro-control. Facing the pressure on the economy in the second quarter, countercyclical adjustment policies were stepped up in a timely manner, the construction of the "Six Networks" was accelerated, and major projects were implemented one after another. The economic growth rate of 4.6% in the first three quarters was steadily within the expected range. Employment, prices, and the balance of payments maintained a basic balance, laying a solid foundation for the development throughout the year. There will always be ups and downs on the road ahead, but by guarding the bottom line of people's livelihood and stabilizing the fundamentals of the economy, we will have the confidence and determination to overcome the ups and downs.
If "stability" maintains the bottom line of development, "advance" opens up the imagination of life. The constant addition of new categories to the shopping cart is a microscopic reflection of the accelerated growth of new productivity. In the first three quarters, investment in high-tech industries increased by 4.9% year-on-year, and investment in the information services industry increased by 20.2%. General-purpose technologies such as artificial intelligence and new energy have accelerated breakthroughs. The "artificial intelligence +" action has empowered thousands of industries and ultimately transformed into new products and services within reach of consumers. The "advancement" in the field of foreign trade is also eye-catching. In the first 10 months, my country's imports and exports increased by 20% year-on-year. Exports of integrated circuits, industrial robots, and "three new" products grew rapidly. Imports continued to grow faster than exports. Global high-quality goods poured into the domestic market at an accelerated pace, allowing people to share the world's good things without leaving home. Even starting a business has become easier: one-person companies relying on AI technology are booming, ordinary people can start their careers with just one skill, and the trickling vitality of micro-entities has converged into a surging wave of new and better economies.
Stability and progress are dialectically unified, and the art of economic work lies in grasping the balance between the two in overcoming difficulties: seeking progress through stability, and consolidating stability through progress. Without a stable foundation, progress will lose its support; without breakthroughs in progress, stability will be difficult to sustain. The current economic recovery is continuing to gain momentum, but continued efforts are needed to achieve the full-year target. It is necessary to continue to maintain a stable bottom line and ensure people's livelihood protection in a practical and detailed manner so that the people's sense of gain and happiness will continue to increase; it is also necessary to continue to spurt forward vitality and accelerate the continuous conversion of old and new driving forces so that the development dividends of new productive forces can benefit people's livelihood more and more widely. From the openness and win-win results of the CIIE to APEC's Asia-Pacific cooperation, from the solid advancement of major projects in the "15th Five-Year Plan" to the joint growth of thousands of market entities, upward and forward forces are gathering, accumulating sufficient momentum for victory throughout the year.
A small shopping cart, connected to the big economy, contains a good life. Behind the diversity and ease of consumption choices is the stability of the economic market and the iterative upgrade of development momentum. Standing at the juncture of the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan", maintaining strategic focus, mustering up the energy to forge ahead, turning stable advantages into momentum for progress, and turning people's livelihood expectations into development momentum, China's economy will surely move forward on the road of high-quality development and bring more tangible happiness to hundreds of millions of people.
