Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 5th (Xinhua) – The long-term improvement of the Chinese economy will not change – International insiders are optimistic about the high-quality development of the Chinese economy
The Second Session of the 14th National People’s Congress opened in Beijing on the 5th, attracting global attention. The government work report points out that in the past year, the overall recovery of the Chinese economy has been positive. The gross domestic product (GDP) exceeded 126 trillion yuan, a growth rate of 5.2%, ranking among the top in the world’s major economies.
International experts generally believe that in the face of multiple difficulties and challenges intertwined, China’s economic achievements are hard won and commendable. The basic trend of China’s economic recovery and long-term improvement has not changed or will not change. China will fully implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, and comprehensively promote Chinese path to modernization with high-quality development, which will continue to contribute to its own development, regional prosperity, and global economic recovery.
This is a drone photo taken on February 2, 2024, showing the scenery of Xi’an Datang Night City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shao Rui
Recovery is improving, with strong resilience
“The world is full of expectations for China’s development in 2024,” said Fernando Lugris, Uruguayan Ambassador to China, in a media interview. He said that China is an important engine of world economic growth and has maintained Uruguay’s position as the largest trading partner for more than 10 consecutive years. People have many expectations for the speed and quality of China’s economic development.
In 2023, the export of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products exceeded one trillion yuan, highlighting the optimization, transformation, and upgrading of China’s economic structure. Hariri Turck, an economics professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology in the United States, stated that China is shifting from pursuing speed and scale growth to high-quality development, and green transformation has become a new driving force for economic development.
In the past year, the global economic growth momentum has been insufficient, regional hot issues have occurred frequently, and the complexity, severity, and uncertainty of the external environment have increased. The continuous recovery and improvement of the Chinese economy also face multiple challenges. Faced with a severe and complex situation, the Chinese economy has withstood pressure, increased macroeconomic regulation efforts, and continued to improve its economic performance.
Through comprehensive analysis and judgment, China’s development still faces a combination of strategic opportunities and risks, with favorable conditions stronger than unfavorable factors. As a result, many multinational corporations are using their feet to vote and choose to increase capital and expand production in China, sharing the dividends of China’s high-quality development.
Lisa Batelson, Executive Director of the China UK Trade Association, stated that China is the world’s second-largest economy and the middle-income group is constantly growing. “Many British companies see the enormous value of the Chinese market and are doubling their efforts to develop their business in China.”.
The “China Business Environment Survey Report” released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China in February this year showed that in 2023, American companies in China have further increased their expectations for China’s development prospects, with 50% of the surveyed companies ranking China as the world’s preferred or top three investment destination. He Maike, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, told reporters that China has a strong manufacturing and supply chain, as well as a huge consumer market, which has a sustained appeal to American companies. “To maintain global competitiveness, we must sharpen ourselves in the Chinese market.”.
On January 10th, in the workshop of Ideal Automobile’s Changzhou base in Jiangsu, a robotic arm was used for welding operations. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ji Chunpeng
The German Institute of Economics recently pointed out in a report that in 2023, Germany’s total direct investment in China reached a record high of 11.9 billion euros, an increase of 4.3% from the previous year. At that time, Germany’s investment in China accounted for 10.3% of Germany’s total overseas investment, the highest level since 2014.
The popularity of foreign enterprises’ deep cultivation in China is not decreasing, and foreign investment in China is also undergoing structural changes. Data shows that in 2023, the proportion of high-tech industry investment in China’s actual use of foreign investment reached 37.3%, setting a new historical high, with high-tech manufacturing industry investment increasing by 6.5%.
Ludmila Vezelova, Associate Professor of the School of Economics and Management at the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian State Higher School of Economics, believes that China has recently introduced a series of policies to optimize the business environment for foreign enterprises in China, committed to solving the practical difficulties of foreign enterprises operating in China, actively attracting foreign investment to increase investment and production in key areas, and establishing research and development centers in China, which is expected to further stimulate development potential.
Dutch economist Heiko Ebes stated that in the long run, economic success is driven by multiple factors such as openness, education investment, competitiveness, infrastructure investment, innovation, and productivity growth. In recent years, China has been continuously investing in these fields, and I am optimistic about China’s long-term development.
Focusing on people’s livelihoods and putting people first
In recent days, overseas media has been paying increasing attention to China’s two sessions. A commentary article published on the website of South Korea’s Central Daily News stated that one of the key words for this year’s Chinese People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference is “high-quality development”, and “China’s current goal is to make people’s lives better through high-quality development”.
On February 19th, job seekers learned about job information at the “Spring Breeze Action” and East West Labor Cooperation Recruitment Fair in Wanda Town, Danzhai County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Yang Shengxian)
Several international experts have expressed that China’s economic development adheres to the principle of putting people first, not only focusing on indicator data, but also on the happiness and health of the people.
Anna Malinberg Ui, Deputy Director of the Philippine Institute for Asian Century Strategy, told reporters that the people-oriented development path is deeply rooted in Chinese history and culture. China has proposed a new development concept of innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing, which shows that China prioritizes sustainability and balance in economic development, rather than just pursuing speed.
On January 24th, workers assembled vehicles on the production line of Lima New Energy Electric Vehicle Industrial Park in Runan County, Henan Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Gang
Ali Laya, the editor in chief of the Lebanese news website “China in the Eyes of Arabs”, said that the Chinese economy is the locomotive of global economic growth, and this locomotive is steadily moving forward. China has kept pace with the progress of the times and technological changes, formulated a comprehensive plan for national economic and social development, promoted national prosperity, and enabled people to live a better life.
In 2023, the per capita disposable income of Chinese residents increased by 6.1%, and the income gap between urban and rural residents continued to narrow; The overall employment situation in urban areas across the country is stable, with 12.44 million new jobs added. Faced with an exceptionally complex international environment and arduous tasks of reform, development, and stability, such achievements are remarkable.
Charles Onunayiju, Director of the Nigerian China Research Center, believes that China is adept at using reforms to solve development problems and bring tangible benefits to the people. “This is both a rational economy and a profound philosophy.”. He said that the Chinese economy is seeking progress while maintaining stability, injecting more stability into the world economy.
Croatian political analyst Krehmir Macan said that the Chinese economy has overcome difficulties and maintained stable growth, making important contributions to the world economy. China’s development model that focuses on people’s livelihoods and puts people first provides reference for other countries.
Win win cooperation and sharing opportunities
China’s development cannot be separated from the world, and the prosperity of the world also requires China. China adheres to high-quality development and continues to promote high-level opening up to the outside world. This not only effectively promotes its own economic development, but also expands the “cake” of global economic development, providing the world with opportunities for win-win cooperation.
As the “golden signboard” for China and Indonesia to jointly build the “the Belt and Road” cooperation, the Ya’an Wanzhou High speed Railway has been in operation for more than 140 days and has sent more than 2 million passengers in total, providing a new choice for transportation between the Indonesian capital Jakarta and the famous tourist city Bandung.
“Indonesia is one of the beneficiaries of the” the Belt and Road “initiative, and the Yawana high-speed railway is just one of the successful cooperation cases.” Bala Mamiya, senior economist of Bank of Central Asia, Indonesia’s largest private bank, told reporters that the joint construction of the “the Belt and Road” will help Indonesia’s economic transformation and upgrading from the perspective of industrial production and trade.
On March 3rd, in the waiting hall of Halim Station in Jakarta, Indonesia, a child took a photo with a model of the Jakarta Bandung high-speed train. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xu Qin
Since the proposal of jointly building the “the Belt and Road” was put forward more than 10 years ago, a large number of projects have taken root and opened up a road of cooperation, opportunities and prosperity leading to common development, becoming the most popular international public goods and the largest international cooperation platform in the world today.
In 2023, China’s total annual import and export of goods will be 41.76 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.2% over the previous year, and the import and export of countries jointly building the “the Belt and Road” will increase by 2.8%, accounting for 46.6% of the total import and export value.
From the China Egypt Teda Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone to the Central Business District of the new administrative capital, and then to the ultra-high complex project in the new city of Alaman… When it comes to the achievements of cooperation between Egypt and China in recent years, Nasser Abdul Al, a professor in the Chinese Department of Ain Shams University in Egypt, is like many treasures.
Abdul Allah told reporters that China upholds the concept of win-win cooperation and common development, “seeking global cooperation and development, and providing a different perspective for countries to develop their economies.”. China actively leads or participates in the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BRICS mechanism, opening up new perspectives for the development of southern countries worldwide and making important contributions to the global economy.
Mousana Mazroui, a professor of political geography at Tikrit University in Iraq, said that the Chinese government’s important initiatives such as jointly building the “the Belt and Road” are China’s “another great opening up” to the world, contributing Chinese wisdom to the development of global economy and trade, and bringing broad positive impacts to the world’s economy and trade. (Reported by Xinhua News Agency’s foreign journalists, written by: Su Liang, Yu Rong, Yan Jie)