2026 is the starting year of the 15th Five Year Plan. Since the beginning of this year, various regions and departments in China have conscientiously implemented more proactive macro policies, focusing on the integrated effect of stock policies and incremental policies, and the economic operation has started strongly and well. The five chief economists interviewed generally believe that the GDP growth rate in the first quarter is expected to reach around 5%, and the Chinese economy will achieve a "good start"; Macro policies will closely follow the annual target tasks, and be more proactive, coordinated, and precise in their efforts. Our country's economy is showing a trend of 'strong start and good start', with major economic indicators generally improving. ”The Chief Economist of CITIC Securities clearly stated that the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.3% year-on-year from January to February; The investment in fixed assets investment has increased from a decrease, of which the investment in infrastructure has increased by 11.4% year on year, reflecting a continuous positive trend of investment. Overall, the economy is expected to achieve a growth rate of nearly 5% in the first quarter. It is expected that GDP will grow by 4.9% in the first quarter of 2026. ”Wu Chaoming, Chief Economist of Caixin Financial Holdings and Vice President of Caixin Research Institute, told reporters that the economy started strongly at the beginning of the year, showing the characteristics of "strong production, strong exports, rising investment, and stable consumption". Driven by the cumulative effect of the "stable growth" policy and the structural growth of external demand, the economy is expected to achieve a "good start" in the first quarter. In the first quarter, driven by the consumption during the Spring Festival, market demand has increased, and CPI has shown a phased rise. The consumption growth rate has been boosted synchronously, and the overall operation of the national economy is stable. It is expected that the GDP growth rate in the first quarter will be around 5%. ”Yang Delong, Chief Economist of Qianhai Open Source Fund, said. Chen Li, Assistant to the President, Chief Economist, and Director of the Research Institute of Chuancai Securities, stated that in the first quarter, China's macroeconomy started strongly and had a good start. Main indicators stabilized, the structure continued to optimize, market expectations improved, industrial production accelerated recovery, equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing industries showed strong growth, the consumer market steadily increased, price levels moderately rose, employment and livelihood security were strong, new quality productivity was rapidly cultivated and strengthened, and the economic operation showed a good trend of steady progress and improvement in quality, laying a solid foundation for achieving the annual growth target. The 2026 Government Work Report proposes that the main expected development target for this year is to achieve an economic growth rate of 4.5% -5%, and strive for better results in actual work. At the same time, it clarifies the need to implement more proactive and effective macro policies, enhance policy foresight and targeted coordination. Chen Li expects that macro policies will always be closely aligned with the annual target tasks, and will be more proactive, coordinated, and precise in their efforts. The fiscal policy will enhance efficiency, accelerate the implementation of ultra long term special treasury bond and policy financial instruments, expand effective investment and promote consumption growth; Adhere to a moderately loose monetary policy to stabilize growth, employment, and prices, maintain reasonable and sufficient liquidity, and reduce comprehensive financing costs. At the same time, we will strengthen the overall coordination and connection of policies related to industry, technology, employment, and regions, focus on expanding domestic demand, deepening reforms, preventing risks, and improving expectations, strive to break through economic circulation bottlenecks, promote the combination of existing policies and incremental policies to increase efficiency, and make every effort to consolidate the foundation of positive economic growth and strive for better development results. Mingming stated that the government will accelerate the implementation of special bonds and increase the proportion of funds used for project construction. Major engineering projects during the 15th Five Year Plan period will also be constructed earlier. In terms of boosting domestic demand, the implementation of the plan to increase the income of urban and rural residents will be accelerated, as well as the special funds for fiscal and financial coordination to promote domestic demand; In terms of monetary policy, we will maintain moderate easing, timely reduce reserve requirement ratios and interest rates, and release liquidity support. In addition, we will focus on promoting the development of domestic demand, technology and other fields through structural monetary policy tools. Wen Bin, Chief Economist of Minsheng Bank, stated that it is expected that fiscal expenditures will continue to maintain a considerable scale this year, structural monetary policy tools will continue to be optimized and innovated, and efforts to expand domestic demand will significantly increase. (New Society)