China still a strong driver of global economy

LI FENG/CHINA DAILY

Despite the uncertainties surrounding the world economy and the recent considerable fluctuations in global stock, foreign exchange and commodity markets, China has been maintaining steady growth, injecting confidence into the global economic recovery as an important locomotive of world growth.

China has proved a top contributor to world economic growth. Its annual average gross domestic product was 8.7 percent from 2009 to 2014, far higher than the 2.0 percent world average during the same period. Its contribution rate to world economic growth exceeded 30 percent during the period, 12 percentage points more than the 18 percent contributed by the United States.

China's economic growth has slowed after its entry into a new normal stage of growth. This is mainly the result of the country's accelerating economic restructuring and transformation to a services-led economic model, which has given new vigor to the nonpublic sector and promoted the booming development of newly emerging industries. The efforts to encourage business startups and innovations have also exhibited good momentum, and remarkable results have been achieved in energy saving and emissions reduction.

In 2014, China accounted for 13.3 percent of world economic aggregate, 4.1 percentage points up from the 2010 level. And despite facing increased slowdown pressures in the first half of this year, China's economy still contributed 30 percent to world economic growth, making it a stabilizer of the world economy.

China boasts not only the largest manufacturing factor but also the largest consuming population, which constitutes a prop for its robust import demands. From January to August, China's grain imports grew by 24.4 percent year-on-year and the import of copper ores and crude oil witnessed a rise of 12.1 percent and 9.8 percent respectively. So far, China is still a major destination for exports from Latin American and African countries. In 2014, China's combined imports from Asia, Africa and Latin America accounted for more than 60 percent of its total import volume and nearly 20 percent of the total exports from these regions.

Outbound visits and consumption by Chinese people have been growing, driving consumption growth and economic development in the tourist destinations. Chinese people made more than 100 million overseas visits in 2014 and such visits grew by 16 percent in the first half of this year from a year earlier. Overseas consumption by Chinese people has ranked the highest for three consecutive years, with the total value amounting to 1 trillion yuan ($157.5 billion) in 2014.

In the context of revaluation of the US dollar, the return of global capital to the US and thus reduced liquidity, a new round of outward investment enthusiasm has also been displayed by China. China's investment overseas was a record $123.1 billion in 2014, an increase of 14.2 percent from the previous year. Investment in the first eight months of this year accounted for $77 billion, increasing by 18.2 percent year-on-year. The lion's share of investment has flowed to Asian, African and Latin American countries and played a positive role in improving local infrastructure and enhancing local economic potentials. The government is also pushing forward the Belt and Road Initiative, which is expected to bring benefits to the countries and regions involved.

It is foreseeable that after China realizes the successful transformation and upgrading of its economy and realizes a shift from investment-driven to consumption-oriented growth led by the service sector rather than manufacturing, it will enter a healthier, better-quality and more sustainable development stage and so better serve as the engine for the world's economic growth.

The allegations by some in the past and at present that China is exporting deflation and recession are simply a new version of the "China's threat" fallacy. In an era of globalization and at a time when world economic recovery still faces arduous challenges, to jointly push for the return of the world economy should be a priority for all countries.

China is confident it can maintain its economic growth within a reasonable range and work with other countries to promote the inclusive and balanced development of the global economy.

The author is director of the National Bureau of Statistics. The article is an excerpt of a commentary that first appeared in People's Daily.