As uncertainty in global energy and trade grows due to the Iran war, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China must "respond systematically to external shocks and challenges and raise the level of safeguarding the security of energy resources."
On the 28th, according to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, Xi presided over a Politburo meeting that day and made the remarks. The meeting positively assessed the first-quarter economic policy results this year and emphasized flexible monetary policy and exchange-rate stability, expanded infrastructure investment, and a higher level of energy security.
The meeting said the Chinese economy faces several difficulties and challenges, and called for pursuing progress while maintaining stability; coordinating domestic and international matters and development and security; advancing scientific and technological self-reliance and strengthening independent control over industrial chains; and implementing more proactive fiscal policy and appropriately accommodative currency policy in a precise and effective manner.
It also stressed the need to strengthen drivers of economic development, including expanding domestic demand, optimizing supply, revitalizing existing resources, and stabilizing employment, corporations, and markets. In particular, on boosting domestic demand, the meeting set out tasks including expanding the supply of high-quality goods and services, upgrading consumption, strengthening the capacity of the services sector, and expanding networks such as water-resource networks, new-type power grids, computing power networks, next-generation communications networks, urban water and sewer networks, and logistics networks.
It also emphasized managing major risks such as real estate and local-government debt, strengthening employment and people's livelihoods, stabilizing agricultural product prices, and responding to disasters and food safety.