China’s economy is demonstrating a robust shift from high-speed growth to high-quality development, as recent data from China’s Bureau of Statistics reveal continuous stability and momentum. In April, value-added industrial output, the service sector—particularly information transmission and software and information technology services—consumption, high-tech manufacturing, fixed asset investment, and trade all showed healthy growth rates.
Leading analysts and economists remain confident in China’s economic strength, dismissing notions that China’s economy has reached its peak. They argue that such views lack sense in today’s interconnected world. While the world’s second-largest economy faces some challenges—primarily due to external factors and certain property market issues—China is well-positioned to overcome these hurdles and sustain growth.
A recent article in the Financial Times noted that despite fluctuations in China’s stock market, it is neither accurate to label the situation as a “crisis” nor prudent to underestimate the growth potential of China’s domestic market, which is “arguably too big to ignore.” The report emphasized that “perhaps only China is ‘the next China,'” highlighting the country’s private investments in artificial intelligence, impressive advancements in industrial robot installations, and innovation. These factors, coupled with measures to stabilize the market and restore investor confidence, indicate that China is navigating a significant transition.
Having transformed into the “world factory” and experienced rapid urbanization over the past decades—resulting in miraculous growth rates—China’s economy is now shifting towards a model anchored in consumption-led, value-added, technology-driven, green, and high-quality growth.
Domestic consumption is a key driver of this growth, accounting for 73.7 percent of the country’s economic expansion in the first quarter of 2024. Indicators such as surging retail, foodservice, and automotive sales, increased luxury spending, robust recovery in the hospitality sector, a steady rise in income, a decline in urban unemployment, and new consumption patterns all point to efforts to boost people’s spending power. These efforts are complemented by strong policies aimed at promoting efficiency in an innovation-driven economy.
At a recent session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Australia’s ambassador to the U.S., Kevin Rudd, underscored the significance of Chinese consumers as the best guarantor of China’s economic future. He stated, “Remember, the scale of the Chinese consumer market is unprecedented in global economic history. I don’t accept ‘peak China’ at all. I think it’s intellectually and analytically flawed because of the untapped potential of Chinese consumer demand.”
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
