Inherent advantages explain economy's resilience

Editor's note: China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) will soon be unveiled. Guo Liyan, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research's Economic Research Institute, spoke to China National Radio about the country's economic growth prospects, development advantages, innovation trends and future trajectory. Below are excerpts from the interview. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

China has distinctive institutional strengths and many advantages, including an enormous market, a complete industrial system and a wealth of talent. These four factors have provided strong support for China's steady and sustained economic progress during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period and guaranteed the resilience of the country's economy.

Institutional strength, with the powerful capacity for organization, mobilization and long-term strategic planning, serves as a cornerstone for ensuring economic stability and improving the quality and efficiency of development. It guides resources and factors of production to key areas, providing solid institutional support for leveraging the super large Chinese market, strengthening industrial dynamism and unleashing the vitality of human resources.

When it comes to the market size, China's population of over 1.4 billion and the expanding middle-income group constitute an enormous source of demand. The key now is to accelerate the transformation of this massive market advantage into industrial competitiveness, creating application scenarios for new technologies and products.

It has been proved that market advantage can empower emerging industries and provide strong support for them to thrive in new arenas.

China's advantage in the industrial system is reflected in the spread of new technologies in emerging industries as well as the transformation and upgrading of traditional sectors. The textile industry is a good example of this transformation. There has been a continuous improvement in the quality of high-performance fibers produced by the industry. They are now being used in sophisticated high-speed trains and ships.

Talent is also a crucial production factor. Scientists and engineers, as well as other highly skilled workers, are vital to building and maintaining a modern industrial system.

The unilateral trade protectionism of certain countries has changed the demand environment for exports significantly. However, many export-oriented Chinese enterprises have turned this challenge into an opportunity. They have used new growth drivers to transform. With strong policy support, they are now moving toward innovation and higher value. Many firms are now placing greater emphasis on developing their own intellectual property and brands, diversifying into other overseas markets and moving from simple suppliers of goods to providers of full lifecycle services. This shows that Chinese companies and the country's economy have the strength and resilience to turn adversity into opportunity.

The new wave of technological revolution is reshaping global production and supply systems, bringing both opportunities and uncertainties. Against this backdrop, it is vital to promote growth from both the supply and demand sides. On the supply side, efforts should focus on improving the capacity for independent breakthroughs and on scaling up new technologies and products beyond the experimental stage. At the same time, enterprises should enhance their awareness of quality and branding.

On the demand side, China must further unlock the potential of its massive domestic market through reform and policy measures. It is important to expand the supply of new consumer goods and services and create more consumption scenarios. This will allow new technologies and products to be more widely used and meet people's demand for services.

In short, efforts should be made on both the supply and demand sides, guided by the needs and aspirations of the people. By continuously optimizing and coordinating policies, China can better safeguard people's livelihoods, identify new growth drivers, and foster new engines of development.