(Yicai) Dec. 27 -- China’s gross domestic product should be able to expand at a annual rate faster than 8 percent, but to fully unleash this potential, shrinking demand needs to be promptly reversed so as to boost market recovery, a researcher in the country’s cabinet told Yicai.

Since the Covid-19 curbs were lifted earlier this year, spending in offline scenarios such as dining and tourism has bounced back, becoming a major driving force of consumption recovery, said Zhang Liqun, who works at the State Council’s development research center.

A sustained rebound in consumption can be realized through an increase in people’s income, Zhang said. Next year, the government should prioritize employment and the boosting of people’s earnings, both of which will form a strong basis for the sustainable recovery of demand, he added.

If more proactive fiscal policies are adopted next year, government investments in infrastructure, public services and other public utility projects will be greatly enhanced, he said. This should stimulate orders, which will spur production and hike employment.

Weak market demand is the main reason for the slowing growth in fixed-asset investment. Zhang said. It is necessary to give full play to the government’s role of spurring investment by companies and other parts of society.

Next, China should strengthen the building of “a unified national market,” that includes market admission and other aspects, Zhang said. In the next round of reforms, it should also try to realize the protection of property rights and the enhancement of judicial capability nationwide. It should accelerate the formation of a more open legal environment and higher-level regulation, so as to detect violations more quickly and implement penalties fairly according to the law.

China’s fixed-asset investment climbed 2.9 percent from January to November from the same period last year, much slower than last year’s growth of 5.1 percent, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Dec. 15. But in November, the retail sales of consumer goods surged 10.1 percent year on year, an increase of 2.5 percentage points from October’s yearly growth.

Editor: Kim Taylor