The Spring of China's Economy in 2023 Will Come Earlier: Global Times Editorial

By Global Times

Jan 18, 2023 12:15 AM

Illustration: Tang Tengfei/Global Times

The National Bureau of Statistics of China on Tuesday released the 2022 economic data, showing that the country's GDP grew by 3 percent. Under repeated shocks of extreme pressure from multiple factors in the past year, China's economic performance has exceeded market expectations, among which, agriculture, high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing all performed well. Employment and prices were generally stable, high-quality development achieved new results, and the economic output reached a new level.

Regarding this achievement, even the US and Western public opinion, which has always been harsh on China, has basically not made irresponsible remarks so far. Everyone understands what it means and how hard-won it is. Compared with the long and arduous journey that the Chinese economy traveled in 2022, people are now paying more attention and looking forward to the vigorous vitality it has displayed in 2023. Yi Kang, director of the National Bureau of Statistics, said the entire Chinese economy will definitely improve in 2023. In fact, this has become the consensus on Chinese economy both at home and abroad. Among the many analyses and interpretations by the outside world, the frequency of the use of the word "resilience" is very high, which also shows the confidence of Chinese economic development.

Recently, both at the policy level and the market level, there have been strong positive signals. With the optimization of epidemic prevention and control measures, social production and life have been revived. The tourism market across the country heated up sharply during the New Year's Day holiday. In the upcoming Spring Festival, data shows that domestic travel bookings have increased by more than 70 percent year-on-year, while international travel has soared 260 percent. At present, international institutions generally believe that the Chinese economy will resume its upward trend from the end of 2022. Especially from the second quarter, economic vitality will be unleashed more quickly, consumption will see a retaliatory rebound, and the year-on-year growth rate of GDP may rise sharply. At the same time, this also means new growth opportunities for the world. Not only the tourism industries in Southeast Asia, Europe and other countries have high expectations, but some companies such as German and Japanese ones have also begun to accelerate their investment in China.

Public opinion is more concerned about the difficulties that the private economy and small, medium and micro enterprises are currently facing. The central government attaches great importance to this issue. The Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of last year emphasized that policy and public opinion support should be provided to encourage and support the growth of the private economy and private enterprises. 

Many local governments have already taken actions. The private economy and small, medium and micro enterprises have become the main source of China's economic vitality and innovation after the reform and opening-up. Their survival and development have undergone fierce competition in the market and they have a strong vitality. We believe that with the strong support of the country, the tenacious fighting spirit of private enterprises, and the profound experiences they have accumulated over the past more than 40 years of reform and opening-up, 2023 will surely be a year for private enterprises to play a big role. They will not only win the market, but also earn respect.

What is unusual is that the West's bad-mouthing about China's economy in 2023 has been unprecedentedly marginalized. Instead, there are quite a few pessimistic forecasts about the world economy. World Bank officials have warned that the global economy is on a "razor's edge" and "even a small shock can trigger an outright recession." While expressing serious concerns about the world economy, international institutions have raised their optimistic expectations for the Chinese economy. Northbound capital representing foreign capital has continued to rush to raise A shares for 10 consecutive days, accumulating a net purchase of 89.146 billion yuan since January, which is close to the net purchase amount of 90.02 billion yuan in the whole year of 2022. 

Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), told the media that China's ability to recover "is very likely the single most important factor for global growth in 2023." This represents the mainstream attitude of the international community. OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said China's reopening is "overwhelmingly positive" in the global fight to tackle surging inflation. The Washington Post stated that China is "setting the stage for a rebound in consumer and business activity that could prevent the global economy from tumbling into recession."

To some extent, Chinese economy has become "the hope of the whole globe." Under such circumstances, those poachers' actions of obstructing China's economic development will be met with more resentment and contempt. The fate and interests of all human beings are already closely linked. We do not seek to stand out from the crowd, and we do not seek to win or lose. What we pursue is to let all flowers bloom together and common prosperity.

Difficulties are of course inevitable. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening-up, the Chinese economy has created countless miracles, and the word "miracle" itself implies a breakthrough in difficult times. In other words, China's development has never been easy, but history has repeatedly proved the advantage of the Chinese system and the infinite creativity of the Chinese people. Since the world has greater confidence and expectations in the determination and ability of China's economy to overcome difficulties, we should have this confidence even more.