On March 6, 2025, Professor Jun ZHANG, Dean of the School of Economics and Vice Dean of the Fudan Development Institute, participated in the Two Sessions Economic Policy live broadcast hosted by Beike Finance of The Xinjing News. He provided an in-depth analysis of the Government Work Report, focusing on the theme of increasing fiscal expenditure.

The report sets a target of approximately 5% GDP growth. According to Professor Zhang, this target reflects a threefold consideration: the mid-to-long-term development objectives aimed at 2035, local government targets, and the need for policy continuity. This year, a more proactive fiscal policy will be implemented, characterized by raising the deficit ratio to 4%, issuing nearly 12 trillion yuan in new debt, and adopting a moderately accommodative monetary policy to help achieve the growth target.

Professor Zhang further noted that current macroeconomic demand is insufficient, and therefore, monetary policy should be coordinated with fiscal measures to alleviate local government debt pressures and increase spending to stabilize the economy. Moreover, maintaining an inflation rate of around 2% is expected to bolster confidence by aligning actual economic growth with potential growth, thereby ensuring the achievement of mid-to-long-term goals.

In addition, Professor Zhang commented on capital market policies and the need to boost confidence in the private sector. He suggested that enhancing the dynamism of the capital markets and enacting legislation that clearly stipulates exemption from liability for government support to the private sector would address existing concerns and help secure future investments.

Translated by Yuyao ZHAO

Full text in Chinese available at: 

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/UoLuqWv25oFPYocSswHnsQ