China’s economy continues to enjoy strong growth

2017-09-01
Xinhua

BEIJING — China continues to enjoy strong growth which is projected at 6.7 percent for 2017, and shows potential to sustain the increasing momentum over the medium term, said International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a recent annual report.

Achievements of past efforts

Key data released by China’s State Statistics Bureau in July and August reflect the country has maintained smooth economic development with stable prices and employment in the first half of 2017.

The economy is performing reasonably and stably. According to official figures, the first six months witnessed a year-on-year GDP increase of 6.9 percent, growing 0.2 percent faster, compared with the same period last year. Given the data falling within the range of 6.7-6.9 percent in eight straight quarters, China is improving its stability.

The employment situation is optimized. Against the background of a proactive policies aiming to promote service sector, public entrepreneur and innovation, 8.55 million new jobs have been created in urban areas during the period, a year-over-year increase by 200,000, said Mao Shengyong, a spokesman of the statistics bureau.

Mao added that the urban surveyed unemployment rate remained low, which dropped around 5.1 percent this July, down from a year earlier.

The general price level is stabilized. In the first couple of months, the government managed to bring the prices under control with consumer price index (CPI) slightly rising 1.4 percent year-on-year, according to the statistics office.

International balance of payments has been improved. Data released by the People’s Bank of China indicated that by the end of July, the Chinese currency renminbi (RMB) appreciated to 6.7283 yuan against the US dollar, up 0.69 percent from last month. Meanwhile, the foreign exchange reserve has reached $3.0807 trillion, increasing in the sixth month by 23.9 billion.

China’s supply-side structural reform, which has gained steam, has greatly improved the development efficiency and quality, backing up a promising market.

As the economy is becoming more efficient, industrial enterprises at national scale have gained a profit increase of 21.2 percent, growing 14.3 faster year on year, National Statistics Bureau confirmed on Aug 28.

The quality also forges ahead. In a bid to conserve energy and natural resources, clean energy registered a 0.7-percent up in overall energy consumption than that in the same period last year, helping improving the country’s environment.

Market expectation trends up. As revealed by the bureau, in July, the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) of manufacturing sector continued to be above the critical point of 50 in 12 straight months, and the non-manufacturing PMI remained at or above 54 percent in 10 straight months, maintaining good posture.

Bright future in sight

In IMF’s report released on Aug 15, the organization has come up with suggestions for China on future economic governance, including further deleveraging and boosting public and private consumption, views similar with China’s ongoing efforts.

Since China accelerates to its adjustment of economic structure, the development is becoming better coordinated and more sustainable.

The Belt and Road (B&R) Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing in May has lifted domestic and international interconnection to a new level.

According to data from China’s General Administration of Customs, from January to July, Chinese exports to B&R members Russia, India and Malaysia rose 28.6 percent, 24.2 percent and 20.9 percent respectively.

China has also made headway in science and technology research and development.

New business models are growing at an incredible speed. The “internet Plus” initiative promotes integration of online and offline services, in which process the internet economy with online shopping as a representative has rocketed.

In conclusion, China maintains stable and positive development in the first half of 2017. Its advancing reform stimulates growth momentum and optimizes the structure.

In a world experiencing zigzag economic recovery, China is opening up a bright prospect by performing arduous reform tasks and moving forward one step at a time.