Recovering toward high-quality development

China's gross domestic product surged 4.9 percent in the third quarter year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. That means the country's economy grew by 5.2 percent from January to September, and as long as the GDP growth can stay above 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter, the country can fulfill its GDP growth objective this year of around 5 percent.

The national economy has withstood the downward pressure brought about by the risks and challenges from abroad and the overlapping of multiple domestic factors, and on the whole it continues to recover. The overall economic performance is better than market expectations. Whether it is manufacturing investment, total retail sales of social consumer goods, or the urban surveyed unemployment rate and other indicators, the performance has been better than expected.

It is particularly noteworthy that the decline of the national industrial producer price index, or PPI, has narrowed for three consecutive months, falling by 2.5 percent year-on-year in September. That indicates that domestic aggregate demand is stabilizing.

Confidence is also in the process of being restored. In the first three quarters, although private investment growth was still negative year-on-year, the decline has narrowed by 0.1 percentage points from that of the first eight months of this year. If real estate investment is excluded, private investment grew by 9.1 percent in the first three quarters year-on-year. Despite some obvious challenges, it is fair to say that the economic growth has basically returned to the normal track.

It is worth mentioning that the deflation risk once worried by the market did not appear, which once again shows the strong resilience and recovery ability of the economy.

In September, automobile manufacturing increased by 9 percent year-on-year; railway, ship, aerospace and other transportation equipment manufacturing increased by 2.6 percent; electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing increased by 11.5 percent. Industry, especially manufacturing, is the foundation of a big country and the foundation of a strong economy.

The recovery of manufacturing has also boosted consumption. Total retail sales increased by 6.8 percent in September year-on-year, and online retail sales saw an increase of 11.6 percent. Retail sales of services increased by 18.9 percent year-on-year.

The country needs to continuously adjust its structure through reform and opening-up to stabilize growth and boost the transformation and upgrading of its economy toward high-quality development.

- THEPAPER.CN