Confidence voiced on economic prospects

China's resilient domestic market and its efforts to boost the private economy, advance technological innovation and strengthen macro-economic policies will continue to drive the country's economic growth, national lawmakers and political advisers said on Tuesday.

Lou Qinjian, the spokesman for the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, said at a news conference on Tuesday that despite adverse impacts brought about by the external environment and continued challenges, China's economy is underpinned by a stable foundation, multiple advantages, strong resilience and great potential.

China is at a critical stage of growth driver transition, with new drivers emerging, Lou said. The supporting conditions and fundamental trends for long-term sound economic growth remain unchanged, he said, expressing "full confidence" in China's economic prospects.

China has a supersized domestic market and a complete industrial system, with ample room for upgrades of demand, structure and growth drivers, and this provides strong support for economic growth and ensures sufficient flexibility to navigate various risks and challenges, he said.

Last year, China's GDP surpassed 130 trillion yuan ($17.9 trillion) for the first time, growing 5 percent year-on-year, thereby maintaining the nation's position as the world's second-largest economy, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

Ma Jiantang, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said China is confident that its economy will be able to make further progress on the basis of last year's stabilization and rebound. Ma made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual session of the CPPCC National Committee, which started on Tuesday.

This year marks the final year of China's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), and it is highly important to do a good job in this year's economic work, noted Ma, who is also the former secretary of the leading Party members group of the Development Research Center of the State Council.

Ma added that China's confidence comes from the strong leadership of the Party, adequate and powerful macroeconomic policy tools, and the support of the country's comprehensive deepening of reforms.

Liu Hanyuan, an NPC deputy and vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, said that increasing people's income is the key to enhancing consumer confidence and improving economic prospects. Boosting the stock market and stabilizing the real estate market are important areas of focus, he added.

The Central Economic Work Conference held in December determined that China will implement more proactive macroeconomic policies this year and strengthen its fiscal policies.

Since the beginning of the year, various sectors such as science and technology, film, culture and tourism have shown vigorous vitality, and the country's focus on nurturing high-tech industries and fostering new quality productive forces has led to rapid advancements.

For example, the significant technological breakthrough made by artificial intelligence company DeepSeek represents the rise of a group of Chinese companies in the AI field, said Lou, the NPC spokesman.

Meanwhile, China will continue to support the growth of its private economy and accelerate the finalizing of a draft law aimed at promoting the growth and protection of private enterprises, according to Lou.

A large number of private enterprises in Jiangsu province have grown due to resilience in international trade. Last year, the total import and export value of private enterprises in the province reached 2.55 trillion yuan, up 7.3 percent year-on-year, according to Nanjing Customs.

Suzhou Mingzhi Technology Co, a private company based in Suzhou, Jiangsu, has been exporting products such as water heater components. Last year, the total import and export value of the company grew 6 percent year-on-year.

"As an innovation-driven 'little giant' company, we will continue to highlight our technological innovation advantages and contribute to the growth of the Chinese economy," said Hu Jun, customs manager of Mingzhi Technology.