World’s leading newspapers as well as some scholars are trying to build the argument that Chinese economy has been slowed down in recent years, and due to this slow economic growth various types of regional and international strategic policies would be reshaped. In this regard, they are presenting the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of China, which remained 6.9 percent in 2015 as their argument. The economic analyses exclusively based on decreased GDP growth portrays that some forces have unleashed a well-organised propaganda against the Chinese economic growth, and due to lack of understanding of Chinese language and culture, the world has been unable to read the other side of the story.
Contrary to well-organised propaganda, Chinese economy is developing with the passage of time and in 2015 improved significantly. Although Chinese GDP remained 6.9 percent in 2015, however, Chinese foreign reserves have had an increment of $500 billion in 2015, which is equal to Turkey’s total GDP. In 2020, Chinese foreign economic reserves will cross $16 trillion. Currently, China is contributing 12.25 percent to world’s total economy. In 2015, people’s living standards improved significantly, and per capita income has increased 7.4 percent as compared to 2014.
Chinese government has created 130 million new jobs in the last economic year. China will uplift 70 million people from poverty in the next 10 years, and Chinese government is also tackling the phenomenon of urbanisation. Each year 200 million Chinese people migrate from rural to urban areas for better economic future; Chinese government is aiming to create 100 million jobs in rural areas in the next five years. Moreover, Chinese urban development authorities are trying to provide better and economical facilities to Chinese rural migrants. In 2015, Chinese citizens made 120 million overseas trips. Overall, they spent one trillion RMBs during their stay in other countries. High-tech industry became the largest contributing industry in Chinese economy in 2015, as Chinese high-tech industry has done enormous developments in high-speed railway, production of nuclear power plants, manufacturing of mobile phones, production of high-tech machinery for agriculture and industrial sectors, exploration of aerospace and exploration of deep sea in 2014 and 2015.
China was benefitting from western scientific innovations; however, it is hoped that in the next 20 years, China will provide benefits of developments to the world through innovations in science and technology. In this regard, Chinese government will establish 13 scientific research and development units in the next five years. It will invite tens of thousands of scientists and students in China from all across the world. Online shopping has also witnessed enormous growth. On November 11, 2015, at an online festival, shopping of 30 billion RMB took place, which shows new economic trends in Chinese economy.
It is hoped that Pakistani people will not be convinced by western propaganda against the Chinese economy. China would further strengthen its economy in the next five years, according to goals provided by the Communist Party of China (CPC). The month of March 2016 was a significant one for the approval of the next five-year economic plan by the CPC. In this regard, China placed Pakistan at a top priority for shared development.
The reason behind such negative propaganda, ostensibly, is to disrupt Chinese potential investment activities in the world, as economy and investment is always negatively affected when such concerns are raised. For instance, propaganda against the Chinese economy may create challenges for Chinese investors in the local Pakistani markets. It is important to understand that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one of the biggest projects of China in any country. The total investment under the CPEC is $46 billion. This investment is equal to 30 years of external loans that have been contracted by Pakistan. Hence, the CPEC has become highly significant to Pakistan’s economy. The humongous Chinese investment is based on strong mutual trust, and therefore, as per some analysts, international media is trying to give the impression to Pakistan’s business community that owing to Chinese economic slowdown, their investment would not be safe under joint ventures with Chinese companies. On the other hand, China is pleased to witness economic recovery in Pakistan, which is a positive development.
The writer is a freelance columnist