International critical commentary丨Where does the "trend" for China's economic recovery come from?
"I believe that China's medical industry will maintain rapid growth in the next 5 to 10 years. Because of this, companies from various countries are increasing investment in this field." Recently, when talking about the Chinese economy, Director of Plymouth Rock Insurance Company of the United States Chief James Stone told the International Review.
Recently, many foreign companies have stated that the Chinese market is irreplaceable and they are optimistic about the good development momentum of China's economy.
Where does this “momentum” come from?
You might as well find the answer from China’s latest official release of the performance of the national economy from January to February.
The added value of industries above designated size increased by 7% year-on-year; among the 41 major industrial industries, the added value of 39 industries achieved year-on-year growth, with a growth rate of 95.1%; fixed asset investment increased by 4.2% year-on-year; the expected index of enterprise production and operation activities in February reached 54.2%, and the service industry business activity expectation index reached 58.1%, both within the boom range... A series of data show that the fundamentals of China's long-term economic growth have not changed, and this year has achieved a "stable opening", continuing the upward trend.
If you delve deeper into China's big market, you will find that this "momentum" is everywhere.
Let’s look at consumption first.
From January to February this year, total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 5.5% year-on-year, reflecting further strengthening of consumption momentum.
Currently, China has launched a new round of large-scale equipment updates and consumer goods trade-in operations.
According to relevant departments, with the in-depth advancement of high-quality development, equipment updates will bring about a huge market with an annual scale of more than 5 trillion.
In addition, by the end of 2023, the number of civilian cars in China will reach 336 million, and the number of home appliances will exceed 3 billion units. The upgrading of these two fields can also create a trillion-scale market.
At the same time, new consumption growth points such as domestically produced "trendy products", smart homes, entertainment and tourism have frequently emerged from the industry, bringing new momentum to expand domestic demand and opening up new space for foreign companies.
"Chinese consumers have increasingly higher requirements for product quality, which forces us to speed up the pace of new products." The relevant person in charge of Decathlon China said that over the past 20 years of investing in China, the company has continuously enriched its product lines, built its own factories, and To meet the increasingly rich needs of consumers.
Economic growth is inseparable from the powerful engine of innovation.
Judging from the data in the first two months, the output of 3D printing equipment, charging piles, and electronic component products all increased by more than 40% year-on-year, and investment in high-tech industries increased by 9.4% year-on-year, demonstrating the endogenous power brought about by the conversion of old and new kinetic energy.
At present, the development of "new productive forces" has become a key word in China's economy. This year's government work report also lists "vigorously promoting the construction of a modern industrial system and accelerating the development of new productive forces" as its top priority.
In particular, the application of new production tools such as the Industrial Internet has promoted the optimization of manufacturing processes.
As of 2023, the scale of China's industrial Internet core industries exceeds 1.3 trillion yuan and has been fully integrated into 49 major categories of the national economy.
At the end of last year, the World Economic Forum announced the latest list of "Lighthouse Factories" representing top intelligent manufacturing capabilities in the industrial field.
Among the 21 new manufacturing "lighthouse factories", 11 are located in China, accounting for more than half.
It is precisely because of the attraction of China's innovation atmosphere that a large number of foreign companies have come to China for development.
In January this year, 4,588 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in China, a year-on-year increase of 74.4%.
Western developed countries’ investment in China has increased significantly, with France and Sweden increasing by 25 times and 11 times respectively.
Wang Lei, global executive vice president of AstraZeneca, said that China has excellent manufacturing and a complete supply chain, and hopes to conduct business research and development based on Chinese innovation.
It is worth noting that in the first two months of this year, China's import and export of goods increased by 8.7% year-on-year, with both imports and exports achieving positive growth.
The Wall Street Journal stated that China's exports in the first two months had "strong momentum" and the growth rate was much higher than industry expectations.
Behind this lies the flexible behavior of Chinese foreign trade companies.
For example, they consolidate and pack goods from different companies and "go to sea together", which greatly improves transportation efficiency.
The rapid growth of China's foreign trade has been a strong boost to global trade and economic recovery.
Facts have proved that there are more and more factors supporting China's economic recovery.
At present, there are still many external instability and uncertainties, and the foundation for China's economic recovery needs to be strengthened.
However, as various favorable factors continue to accumulate and increase, coupled with the vitality of China's large market and the courage of enterprises, China's economy has the ability to "jump hard" and complete its annual targets and tasks, which also brings warmth to the world economy.
(CCTV News Client of International Critical Commentator)