THE Chinese Government is approaching towards “2 Sessions” to be held on March4-5 2024 during which evaluation of its macro-economy, economic growth, economic achievements, financial management, fiscal and monetary targets and overall performance and gains of its governance during 2023 will be thoroughly discussed. Even GDP, GNP and other important economic targets of 2024 along with “new driving forces” for its achievements will also be announced.
Most recently, the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics released the “Statistical Communiqué” of China on the 2023 National Economic and Social Development which provided a holistic and comprehensive analysis of China’s national economic and social development which vividly reflects its huge vastness, diversification, high level of modernization, qualitative industrialization, investment, business and overall people’s friendly structural reforms and policies during 2023.
it augurs well that despite the Western narrative of so-called “China Collapse Theory”, China’s economy remained stable, sustainable and resilient and achieved GDP of over 126 trillion Yuan ($17.51 trillion) and growth rate of 5.2 percent. The statistical communiqué showcases its “economic structural transformation”, “green” and low-carbon elements, new growth drivers and livelihood improvements is commendable reflecting introduction and “institutionalization” of new economic drivers and policies to achieve the desired goals of carbon neutrality in the days to come.
Remarkably, final “consumption” expenditure, one of the key factors of economic growth, supported GDP growth by 4.3 percentage points, the year-on-year growth of the tertiary industry was 5.8 percent and the value added of the high technology manufacturing industry increased by 2.7 percent, highlighting the progress of economic structural adjustment and transformation and upgrading. Most importantly, the electricity generated by clean energy such as hydropower, nuclear power, wind power and solar power was up by 7.8 percent over the previous year which indicates the deepening green and low-carbon transition in China. China remained the biggest “Investor” and “manufacturer” of green energy in the world.
Interestingly, the export breakthrough of new three items products surpassing 1 trillion Yuan and the cultivation of around 400,000 high-tech enterprises directly emphasize the content of new economic growth drivers. Thus China’s economy and its qualitative products remained diversified, modernized, competitive, attractive and first choice around the global. The growth rate of total national income and the per capita disposable income of residents nationwide have both exceeded that of GDP, and the national urban surveyed unemployment rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous year, indicating new advancements in social livelihood endeavours. So, social development and people’s interest was remained one of the key strategic priorities of the Chinese government during 2023.
It seems that the construction of a modern industrial system, the continuous strengthening of new advantages and new dynamics, and the strategic push for innovation-driven development revolutionized its economy, society and industrial chains. Many indicators outpace GDP growth, demonstrating a significant driving force. Moreover, the 5.2 percent growth rate and an economic increment of 6 trillion Yuan provided a solid foundation for the expansion of employment scale. It also offered a guarantee for various social livelihood initiatives, as well as investments in basic research and other areas. This is conducive to further optimizing the structure of the national economy.
Critical analysis of the Statistical Communiqué confirms that the fundamentals of China’s economic and social development are qualitative, productive, positive, vast and solid. Its strong manufacturing capacity is recognized globally. It is good omen that its numerous industries including agriculture, services, trade, environmental protection, cultural tourism, health and sports are all rapidly developing. China the world’s second-largest economy has the world’s largest, most comprehensive and well-equipped manufacturing system. At the same time, China is the world’s second-largest consumer market for goods, the largest online retail market, and the world’s second-largest data mine which is significantly contributing in the recovery, stability and sustainability of the world economy.
Evidently, the newly released data shows China’s real advancement towards modernization and development in the world’s top 100 scientific and technological innovation clusters which vividly reflects its unmatched and unlimited potential. In summary, China faces the complex domestic and international environment and many difficulties and challenges but hopefully the “Xi’s global initiatives” will dominate the global economic growth during 2024 and beyond. The “CPEC” and “BRI” will achieve all their strategic goals of development, connectivity, green transformation and above all human capital development in the days to come.
It is suggested that the policy makers of China must continuously strengthen the foundation of stability, accumulate the momentum of progress and consolidate the positive momentum. Definitely, the Chinese economy will continue to demonstrate its resilience, vitality, and potential and will remain the largest engine of global growth. Obviously, the Chinese economy in 2023 laid a solid foundation for economic recovery in 2024 and provided valuable signals for where the Chinese economy is headed and top policy priorities for the year. Hopefully, it will achieve more than 5 percent GDP growth during 2024.
Chinese national lawmakers, political advisors and analysts said that during “2 Sessions” main focus will be on further consolidating economic recovery and continuing efforts to pursue high-quality development. It is estimated that in the future China’s development faces and will continue to face strategic opportunities as well as risks and challenges, but the opportunities outweigh the challenges and the favourable conditions outweigh the unfavourable factors.
views expressed are writer’s own.
