Recently, China’s economy has become the focus of attention of the international community. Some believe that there have emerged some problems with China’s economy, which is faced with huge challenges and bleak prospects. They even concluded that China’s economy will drag the world economic growth. As we see it from the contrary, China’s economy still has incomparable advantages and potential for future sustainable growth.
China’s economy remains stable. In 2015, China’s GDP achieved the growth rate of 6.9 perecent and continued to take the lead among all the major economies. This hard-won achievement was made on the basis that China has overcome the global economic downturn with the total economic size exceeding 10 trillion US dollars.
China’s economy has solid foundations. It is to be noted that China has a huge market of 1.3 billion people and the household savings rate has stayed above 38 percent over the years. China’s foreign exchange reserve surpassed 3.3 trillion US dollars by the end of last year, ranking the top in the world. The FDI inflow to China last year reached 126.27 billion US dollars, still the highest among all the developing countries of the world.
China’s economic structure is being continuously optimised. In China, the contribution of consumption to the economic growth reached 66.4 percent, exceeding that of investment. The share of service sector in GDP rose to 50.5 percent. Regional development became more balanced and coordinated.
Innovation brought fresh vitality and impetus for China’s economy. We are accelerating the implementation of “Made in China 2025” and “Internet+” action plan. We are promoting mass entrepreneurship and innovation. Last year, the added value of the high-tech industry increased about 10.2 perent. China’s e-commerce transaction has reached 3.3 trillion US dollars, with a year-on-year increase of about 27 percent.
China is committed to developing an open economy at a higher level. China has set up 14 FTAs with 22 countries and regions. In 2015, China’s imports totaled 1.68 trillion US dollars, remaining the second largest in the world. The outbound direct investment reached 127.6 billion US dollars, up by 10 percent year-on-year. Through opening up, China contributed over one quarter to world economic growth. China’s role as an engine of global economic growth is beyond all doubt.
We will not stop our pace because of what we have achieved, but rather, we will adapt to the new normal of the economy with a more proactive approach. We will push on innovation with our policy instruments, promote supply-side structural reform. We will advance the five philosophies of innovative, coordinated, green, open and sharing development. Innovation is aimed to explore new driving forces and get new potential unleashed. Coordination means balanced development. Green is aimed to pursue the harmony between human development and the preservation of nature. Openness is aimed to integrate the interior and exterior developmental elements. Sharing emphasises the distribution of development fruits among all the people.
These facts and figures clearly show that China’s economy has entered into new normal with steady growth and diverse driving forces. We are fully confident about the bright prospects of China’s economy.
The writer is Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan