International: Such comments have been heard in the international community since China released its official economic data for the first seven months of the year on Sunday, August 17. According to the data, from January to July, China achieved growth in major economic indicators, including manufacturing, services and foreign trade, demonstrating the overall stability of the country’s economy. Analysts say this not only reflects the strong resilience and vitality of the Chinese economy, but also injects momentum into the slowing global economy.

Since the beginning of this year, geopolitical conflicts have continued to intensify, volatility has emerged in international energy markets, and the global economic recovery has faced multiple challenges. Recently, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund released their latest reports. The reports lowered their forecasts for global economic growth this year by 0.1 percentage point. The question is: How is China’s economy moving forward amid such global circumstances? How is it continuing to improve? What are the key driving forces behind the Chinese economy?

Wang Xiaosong, a professor at the School of Economics at Renmin University of China, told CMG that during the first seven months of the year, while facing various external shocks and domestic difficulties, Chinese policymakers assessed the situation and focused on implementing more proactive and effective macroeconomic policies, continuously deepening reforms and expanding high-level opening-up.

It has been observed that the Chinese economy has three distinctive characteristics: stability, innovation and resilience. Above all, China has a strong economic foundation. As the world’s second-largest economy, China has the most complete industrial system and a vast market. Despite the frequent extreme weather events and natural disasters that have affected some parts of China recently, the economy has maintained a stable and progressive development trend. In the first seven months of this year, the value added of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 5.3 percent year on year, while the value added of machinery manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing rose by 9.7 percent and 13.8 percent, respectively, further strengthening the industrial foundation.

As the world’s second-largest consumer market, China’s stable economic performance provides foreign-invested enterprises with greater confidence in stable development. It is worth noting that with the rapid growth of emerging industries such as artificial intelligence and green, low-carbon technologies, new drivers of China’s economy are becoming increasingly stronger. At the end of July, a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee proposed accelerating the transformation of old and new growth drivers. During the first seven months of the year, new growth drivers contributed 50 percent to the growth of industrial enterprises above designated size. The output of industrial robots increased by 28.5 percent year on year, while the production of 3D printing equipment and lithium-ion batteries rose by 52.3 percent and 40.2 percent, respectively. These multiple sets of data indicate that China’s manufacturing industry is accelerating its transformation towards the middle and high ends of industrial and value chains, while the supporting role of new growth drivers in economic development continues to strengthen.

Strong innovative vitality continues to attract foreign investment to China. The resilience of the Chinese economy has also left a deep impression on the outside world. Take foreign trade as an example: despite various challenges, including growing external uncertainties and protectionism, China’s total imports and exports increased by 17.3 percent year on year during the first seven months of the year, demonstrating the country’s strong resilience and adding valuable certainty to the world. This once again proves that China is both a leading global “buyer” and a leading global “seller.”

Through the development and expansion of new growth drivers, deeper reform and opening-up, and the effective implementation of macroeconomic policies, China’s economy will continue to move in a new, better and more positive direction and strive to achieve a good start to the 15th Five-Year Plan. This is also expected to bring more opportunities to the global economy.

Source: Lily-Alim, China Media Group.