BEIJING, March 14 -- China's economic priorities this year laid out at the annual meetings of China's top legislature and political advisory body, known as the "two sessions," have bolstered the world's confidence in China's future development.
China has set a gross domestic product target of around 5 percent for 2023 to ensure steady and quality development, and vowed to steadily expand institutional opening up and achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology.
At a press conference on Monday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang noted that China's economy is stabilizing and picking up in the past two months and that some international organizations have raised their projections for China's economic growth this year, saying that he is fully confident in the prospect of the country's economy.
STRONGER GLOBAL CONFIDENCE
China's sound economic governance, modest growth target and promising development prospects have reassured the international community and injected elements of certainty into a world economy full of uncertainties, global observers have said.
Ahead of the "two sessions," such economic institutions as the International Monetary Fund raised their forecasts for China's economic growth this year.
China will better balance the relationship between quality and quantity of its economy and put quality first, said Australian economist Guo Shengxiang.
"Global markets are taking China's modest growth target in their stride, indicating that investors see merit in Beijing's attempt to revive the world's second-biggest economy without it overheating," said a report by Bloomberg.
"Market watchers found elements that kept them upbeat, including China's commitment to achieve high-quality growth without inflation-stoking stimulus," Bloomberg observed.
Over the past three years, China has stepped up range-based, targeted and well-timed regulation, taking decisive measures to step up macro policy support while refraining from adopting a deluge of strong stimulus policies that would eat into the potential for future growth.
Compared with some Western economies' U-turn in fiscal and monetary policies, China's economic governance is more consistent and stable, Guo said, adding that China has helped stabilize market expectations.
China's rapid growth makes it not only one of the most influential countries in today's international politics and economics but an inspiration to the developing world, said Anna Malindog-Uy, vice president of the Manila-based think tank Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute.
STRONG RESILIENCE WITH VIGOR
"We continue to have high expectations for the Chinese market," Tetsuro Homma, executive vice president of Panasonic Corporation, told Xinhua.
Despite the severe COVID-19 pandemic, Panasonic's business in China achieved a double-digit growth consecutively in fiscal 2020 and 2021, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the group's profits. "It's rare in other areas," Homma said.
Over the past three years, China has managed to achieve an average annual growth of 4.5 percent, far exceeding the global average. During the "two sessions," the Chinese government pledged to keep macro policy consistent and targeted, promote high-quality development and continue to advance win-win cooperation with other countries.
Homma said Panasonic has a "very solid growth plan" for the Chinese market, and is expanding into new businesses in 14 cities, including building new factories, research and development (R&D) centers and marketing bases.
The resilience of the Chinese economy is also reflected in the stability of prices. In 2022, global inflation reached its highest level in more than 40 years, while China's consumer price index rose only 2 percent, much lower than that in the United States and major economies in Europe.
Over the past five years, the added value of China's high-tech and equipment manufacturing industries has grown at an average annual rate of 10.6 and 7.9 percent, respectively, and the digital economy is constantly growing.
China's innovation-driven development has not only promoted the transformation and upgrading of the Chinese economy, but also driven the localization and upgrading of foreign-invested enterprises.
China's economy is resilient and dynamic, said Jiang Ying, chair of Deloitte China, a well-known international accounting firm.
"When foreign companies first came to China, they looked at China as a world manufacturing place and then set up R&D centers or put more value chains in China," Jiang said, adding that now comes the second wave of localization, with foreign companies bringing more advanced products or new products to meet the needs of Chinese consumers and stay competitive in the Chinese market.
FURTHER OPENING-UP
"I'm very glad to see how consumption is returning very fast (in China). We saw bars and restaurants as well with a lot of people going back to the streets," Michel Doukeris, CEO of the world's largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, said during his visit to China ahead of this year's "two sessions."
"Because we are always building our business in China to service the local market, as the economy grows, as consumption grows, we need to continue to invest," he said.
During the "two sessions," topics on China's economy have captured global attention as the mega market continues to promote high-standard opening up.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of China's reform and opening up, and China has remained a favored destination for global investment. In the past three years, the actual use of foreign investment in China and the total foreign trade value have maintained consecutive growth. Last year alone, foreign direct investment in the Chinese mainland, in actual use, reached a record high of more than 189 billion U.S. dollars.
China has also established various platforms to share its development opportunities, such as the China International Import Expo, the China International Consumer Products Expo, and the China International Fair for Trade in Services.
"We should, in accordance with the requirements of building a high-standard socialist market economy and promoting high-standard opening up, deepen reform in key areas, make coordinated efforts to put in place a modern infrastructure system and a high-standard market system, and steadily expand institutional opening up," Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a deliberation with deputies from the delegation of Jiangsu Province at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress.
"China is promoting institutional opening up, which is very attractive to foreign-funded enterprises that are deeply engaged in Chinese market," said Liu Zhifei, president and general manager of Corning Greater China.
Against the backdrop of rising protectionism, China has firmly supported multilateralism and promoted economic globalization. With the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, China has actively facilitated win-win cooperation and participated in global governance.
In the eyes of Santiago Bustelo, researcher at the Center for Argentina-China Studies of the University of Buenos Aires, high-quality opening up "refers precisely to an opening that has to do with China's new form of integration into the global economy."
Following the logic of protectionism, "we will find ourselves in a more complex world, with fewer opportunities for development," Bustelo noted.
"China is having a different vision, a much more virtuous vision where what it seeks is mutually beneficial relationship between countries and the possibility to trade, and for each country to have the freedom to seek opportunities," he added.
