China reaffirms economic confidence, vows to remain global growth engine

Heads of major international economic organizations hailed China’s remarkable economic achievements and expressed confidence that China will remain a global growth engine as they gathered in Beijing for the “1+10” dialogue.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with them on Tuesday, reaffirming China’s economic confidence and pledging to expand openness to provide more development opportunities for the world.

The biggest engine of world economic growth

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, highlighted China’s economic achievements, saying after more than 40 years of sustained and rapid development, the Chinese economy has ushered in a phase of high-quality development, contributing around 30 percent to the world economic growth.

Xi said China has complete confidence in achieving this year’s economic growth target and will continue to play its role as the biggest engine of world economic growth. A World Bank report in 2022 revealed that from 2013 to 2021, China accounted for an average of 38.6 percent of global economic growth, surpassing the combined contribution of the G7 countries, making it the leading driver of global economic growth.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics in October, China’s GDP in the first three quarters of 2024 reached 94.97 trillion yuan (about $13.09 trillion), reflecting a 4.8 percent year-on-year growth at constant prices.

Xi pledged that China will further open up to the outside world, proactively align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and build a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment to boost global economic growth.

He also noted the significant progress in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) over the past decade, saying that the initiative builds a bridge for shared development between China and the world. Xi welcomed international economic organizations to participate in the BRI to promote the modernization of all countries.

So far, China has signed BRI cooperation documents with over 150 countries and over 30 international organizations. Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed that by the end of 2023, Chinese companies had established 17,000 overseas enterprises in countries participating in the BRI, with direct investment stock exceeding $330 billion, while the overseas economic and trade cooperation zones built under the initiative had created 530,000 local jobs.

Building an open and fair global economic system

During Tuesday’s meeting, Xi underscored the major challenges facing the international community, firmly objected to decoupling and protectionism, and emphasized the importance of global cooperation in building an open global economic system.

He called on countries to prioritize innovation, seize opportunities in areas such as the digital economy, artificial intelligence, and low-carbon technologies, and support the cross-border flow of knowledge, technology, and talent to create new drivers of economic growth. He strongly opposed approaches like building “small courtyards with high walls” and “decoupling and severing supply chains,” saying it would harm oneself and others.

As global trade faces headwinds from protectionism and geopolitical tensions, China has continuously expanded its opening-up policies, making significant strides in further integrating its economy with the global market. One of the key measures was the implementation of the new Foreign Investment Law in 2020. The law enhances intellectual property rights protection, ensures a level playing field for foreign enterprises, and promotes a more transparent and fair business environment.

Additionally, in recent years, the country has drastically relaxed foreign capital restrictions in the financial services industry, allowing greater foreign participation in banking, securities, insurance, and asset management sectors. China has also completely lifted foreign investment restrictions in the manufacturing sector and launched pilot projects in the telecommunications and healthcare industries to expand foreign investment opportunities, signaling China’s determination to build a more open, inclusive, and equal global economy.

Discussing the importance of building an open global economy, Xi addressed China-U.S. relations. He said China is willing to maintain dialogue, expand cooperation, and manage differences with the U.S. government, expressing hope for the steady, healthy, and sustainable development of bilateral ties.

“Tariff wars, trade wars, and sci-tech wars go against the trend of history and the laws of economics, and there will be no winners,” he said.