Our reporter Qiu Haifeng and Xu Peiyu, "People's Daily Overseas Edition" (Page 01, April 21, 2022)
In the Grain Rain season, the spring breeze brings warmth.
In Pingdao Village, Chaoyangchuan Town, Yanji City, Jilin Province, in the contiguous rice seedling greenhouses, the villagers were busy placing plates, laying soil, and sowing seeds in one go.
Looking at the neat rows of seedling trays, villager Li Yiping was full of anticipation: "Put water on, and the green seedlings will emerge after a while, and they can be transplanted in mid-May."
At present, spring ploughing is in full swing in the Sanjiang Plain, the wheat in Qilu is luxuriant, the early rice is transplanted in the Yangtze River Basin, and the march of spring ploughing and spring sowing is played all over the country, which is a busy scene.
The latest agricultural situation dispatch of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs shows that at present, more than 20% of the crops have been sown in spring, 70% of the early rice has been planted, and 70% of rice seedlings have been raised in Northeast China, all faster than last year.
The proportion of first- and second-class seedlings of winter wheat was 87.9%, which was 17.4 percentage points higher than that before winter.
Agriculture is stable and the economy is stable.
After multiple tests such as frequent domestic epidemics and turbulent international situations, from fields to construction sites and docks to workshops and shopping malls, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, all walks of life have overcome difficulties, resumed work and promoted production, and worked hard. Do it!
Send positive signals in tackling challenges
In the first quarter of this year, China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.8% year-on-year, marking a steady start.
This growth rate is not easy to come by, but difficult to achieve.
Looking at the world, the situation has become more complicated and turbulent since the beginning of this year. The COVID-19 epidemic is still raging around the world, geopolitical conflicts have intensified, and the world economic recovery has slowed down.
On April 19, the International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for global economic growth this year to 3.6% in January; the day before, the World Bank lowered its forecast for global economic growth in 2022 to 3.2%; at the same time, Germany, France, etc. Relevant institutions in many countries have sharply lowered their economic growth forecasts for this year.
Domestically, the epidemic has frequently occurred recently, the prevention and control situation is severe and complicated, the normal operation of some cities has been hindered, some market players have been severely impacted, some industries have significantly increased difficulties, the smooth economic cycle has encountered some constraints, and new downward pressure has further increased.
Pei Deming, director of the Economics Department of the Asian Development Bank's representative office in China, commented: "Despite being affected by multiple negative factors, we can still see many positive signals from China's economic performance in the first quarter."
This positive signal is reflected in the trend of economic growth -
From the quarter-on-quarter growth rate, GDP in the first quarter increased by 1.3% compared with the fourth quarter of 2021, and the growth rate was significantly higher than the quarter-on-quarter growth rate in the first quarter of last year; from the year-on-year growth rate, GDP in the first quarter increased by 4.8%, higher than the fourth quarter of last year. 0.8 percentage points, the continued recovery trend is obvious.
This positive signal is reflected in the industrial and agricultural production situation——
Seize the agricultural time, do not miss production.
In the first quarter, the agricultural production situation was stable, the animal husbandry grew steadily, the added value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery increased by 6.1% year-on-year, and the output of pigs, cattle, mutton and poultry increased by 8.8%.
Resuming work and promoting production, striving to break through.
In the first quarter, industrial production grew rapidly, and the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.5% year-on-year, a rebound from the fourth quarter of the previous year.
This positive signal is reflected in the improvement of people's livelihood --
Minimize the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development and people's livelihood, and ensure stable employment prices and per capita income growth.
In the first quarter, 2.85 million new jobs were created in cities and towns across the country, and the surveyed urban unemployment rate averaged 5.5%, basically the same as the same period last year; the per capita disposable income of national residents actually increased by 5.1% year-on-year, faster than the GDP growth rate in the same period; Against the background of high prices, the supply of goods and services in the Chinese market is generally sufficient, and the CPI rose by 1.1% year-on-year, which is generally moderate.
Enhance development momentum while improving quality and efficiency
When observing the economy of a big country, we should not only look at the "potential" of data changes, but also at the "energy" behind the development.
Looking at the land of the state, on the one hand, the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and the continuous growth of emerging industries;
- Better economic structure.
In the renovated production workshop of Barut Garment Co., Ltd. in Yuecheng District, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, the staff work in an orderly manner with the newly installed intelligent hanging system.
In the optical cable room of Wuhan Changfei Optical Fiber and Cable Co., Ltd. in Hubei Province, more than 700 kilometers away, the world's fastest optical cable production line is running, which can produce more than 1,000 structural optical cables.
Here, a hair-thin optical fiber is drawn from a 22-centimeter-diameter fiber preform in just 1 second.
The innovation drive has achieved remarkable results, and the quality of development has been continuously improved.
In the first quarter, the added value of high-tech manufacturing increased by 14.2% year-on-year, the equipment manufacturing industry increased by 8.1%, and the added value of information transmission, software and information technology services increased by 10.8%.
——Green and low carbon are more beautiful.
Open the hood to check the oil level, sit in the driver's seat to see the completeness of the interior, and stand beside the vehicle to examine the side skirts and wheel hubs - in the BYD production workshop located in Yuhua Economic Development Zone, Changsha City, Hunan Province, operators surround A careful inspection of newly off-line vehicles.
In the first quarter, BYD's new energy vehicle production reached 287,530 units, an increase of 416.96% over the same period last year.
The new energy industry is in full swing, and the green and low-carbon transition is steadily advancing.
In the first quarter, the output of new energy vehicles and solar cells increased by 140.8% and 24.3% respectively, and the energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP decreased by 2.3% year-on-year.
- Consumption is more innovative.
The Spring Festival "collided" with the Winter Olympics, and ice and snow sports related products became the New Year's goods. During the Spring Festival, the turnover of ski sports products on the Jingdong platform increased by 322% year-on-year, and the overall transaction volume of ice sports products increased by 430% year-on-year.
Consumers in third- and fourth-tier cities have purchased new home appliances such as air purifiers and sweeping robots.
Market sales grew steadily and online consumption remained active.
In the first quarter, the national online retail sales of physical goods increased by 8.8% year-on-year, 4 percentage points faster than that in the fourth quarter of 2021, accounting for 23.2% of the total retail sales of consumer goods, and driving market sales growth by more than 1.5 percentage points.
Share development opportunities in the long-term
Confidence and energy are especially needed under shock and challenge, and sobriety and concentration are needed during continuous recovery.
The complex and uncertain environment at home and abroad has intensified, and some have exceeded expectations. Against this background, the growth rate of some major indicators slowed down in March.
Looking ahead to the whole year, there are still many risks and challenges, and the Chinese economy still needs to climb the slopes and overcome difficulties.
——The more arduous the challenge, the more we must insist on taking the lead and making progress while maintaining stability.
Coordinate epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, strictly implement normalized prevention and control measures, put stable growth in a more prominent position, increase the implementation of macro policies, and keep the economy operating within a reasonable range.
In Ningde City, Fujian Province, Huang Junxiao, an employee of the cold-rolled logistics team of Qingtuo Group, recently received a national unified model key material transportation vehicle pass.
"With this certificate, there is no need to worry about inter-provincial delivery." Huang Junxiao said, "This time we transport stainless steel coils to Wenzhou, Zhejiang, enterprises can receive much-needed production materials faster than before."
Promote the issuance and use of national unified passes in sufficient quantities, and do not restrict access on the grounds of waiting for nucleic acid results; implement a new combined tax and fee support policy, it is estimated that the annual tax rebate and tax reduction will be about 2.5 trillion yuan; The capital is about 530 billion yuan; two new special re-loans for technological innovation and inclusive pensions are set up, and the re-loans for supporting agriculture and small businesses are increased... In response to problems such as poor logistics and difficult operation of small, medium and micro enterprises, policies have been exerted from the central to local governments. It is more precise and appropriate to the front, focusing on stabilizing the macroeconomic market.
——The more arduous the challenge, the more impetus to reform and opening up.
Continue to deepen the reform of "delegating power, delegating power, regulating services", creating a more market-oriented, law-based, and international business environment, further promoting a higher level of opening up, and providing a lasting impetus for China's economy to seek progress while maintaining stability.
Entering Schneider Electric's star factory in Wuhan, Hubei, the intelligent production line, unmanned vehicles transporting materials, intelligent robots efficient assembly, staff patrolling the production line... batches of products are rolling off the production line one after another and waiting to be shipped.
Yin Zheng, global executive vice president of Schneider Electric and president of China, said that even if the epidemic increases uncertainty, Schneider Electric is still willing to increase investment in China.
"In China, we have seen high-quality human resources, a broad market space, a complete industrial system and a general emphasis on innovation. At present, Schneider Electric has established four R&D centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xi'an, and will further develop Promote local research and development results to the world.”
It wasn't just Schneider Electric that cast a vote of confidence.
In the first quarter, the actual use of foreign capital across the country increased by 25.6% year-on-year.
Recent reports from the German Chamber of Commerce in China and the American Chamber of Commerce in China show that 71% of German-funded companies and over 60% of US-funded companies plan to increase investment in China.
Cai Congmiao, honorary president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, believes, "Despite global challenges such as the epidemic and geopolitics, China's economy is expected to maintain strong resilience and growth momentum in the long run. China has the ability and wisdom to overcome difficulties in development."
Live up to the spring.
Practice has repeatedly proved that China's economy is resilient and the fundamentals of its long-term improvement will not change.
China can effectively deal with various risks and challenges and achieve sustainable and healthy economic development.
This is where our confidence lies and where the world's opportunities lie.