UNITED NATIONS: A report released by the United Nations in May raised this year’s economic growth projections for China to 5.3 percent from 4.8 percent predicted at the beginning of the year.
According to the World Bank, China’s economy is expected to grow by 5.6 percent in 2023, an increase of 1.3 percent from the January projection.
China’s economy has continued to rebound and improve since the beginning of this year.
“China has been the power source of the steady growth of the world economy in the past decade,” Chinese Premier Li Qiang said at the opening ceremony of the Summer Davos Forum in north China’s Tianjin Municipality on Tuesday.
Highlighting that China’s economy is deeply integrated with the world economy, Li said China develops itself in globalization and becomes the firmest force of maintaining globalization.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang addresses the opening of the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, or the Summer Davos, in north China’s Tianjin Municipality, June 27, 2023. /Xinhua
China’s economic vitality
The better-than-expected performance of China’s economic data has strongly boosted the confidence of the international market.
In the first five months of this year, China’s total import and export value was 16.77 trillion yuan (around $2.32 trillion), a year-on-year increase of 4.7 percent. Among them, exports were 9.62 trillion yuan, an increase of 8.1 percent and imports were 7.15 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.5 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs.
With the connectivity of regional economic exchanges, China’s imports and exports to other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement grew steadily in the first five months of 2023, reaching 5.11 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.5 percent.
“The Chinese economy still has huge potential,” World Economic Forum President Borge Brende told CGTN.
China is expected to achieve this year’s economic growth target of around 5 percent, with the growth in the second quarter to surpass that in the first quarter, Li said at the forum.
He highlighted that China will continue to provide strong dynamism to the world’s economic recovery and growth, and provide opportunities for mutual benefit and win-win results for world investors.
Recently, executives from many multinational corporations such as Apple, Tesla and BMW visited China to negotiate cooperation and look for business opportunities, showing confidence in China.
As Allianz Group’s Chairman and CEO Oliver Bate said when attending China Development Forum in March, the international community needs China more than ever.
China is acting on the new development philosophy, fostering a new development paradigm at a faster pace, and working hard to achieve high-quality development, the premier said.
A view of the Yangtze River foreign trade wharf in Tongling Port, central China’s Anhui Province, June 16, 2023. /CFP
Driving world economic growth
The continuously optimized business environment is a key factor for China to continue to become a hot spot for foreign investment.
According to a report released by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, 97 percent of the interviewed foreign companies rated the foreign investment policies issued by the Chinese government since the fourth quarter of last year as “satisfactory” or above.
Satisfaction with indicators such as obtaining financial services, resolving commercial disputes and market access exceeded 80 percent.
Moreover, Tesla has announced that it will increase investment in China and build a new mega factory in Shanghai, which will be dedicated to manufacturing the company’s energy-storage product Megapack.
France’s Airbus announced to build a second production line in Tianjin. In April, German’s Volkswagen announced that it will invest 1 billion euros in China to build a center for innovation, component procurement and research and development of electric vehicles.
China stands ready to unswervingly uphold the market economy and support free trade to steer the world economy toward a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable future, the premier said.
Calling on the international community to firmly oppose the politicization of economic and trade issues and jointly maintain the stability and unimpeded flow of global industrial and supply chains, Li hoped the fruits of economic globalization can benefit different countries and people in a more equitable manner.
