Looking Back At 2021:The Chinese Economy Shows Strong Resilience and Vitality

By Guo Yan

In the past year， the continu- ous spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a sluggish global economy. However， China has continued to lead the world in both economic growth and pandemic prevention and control. The first year of Chinas 14th FiveYear Plan has achieved great accomplishments， showing the strong resilience and vitality of the Chinese economy.

According to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics， Chinas GDP increased by 8.1% year-on-year in 2021， ranking the top among the worlds major economies； Chinas total economic output reached RMB 114.4 trillion， exceeding RMB 110 trillion. The GDP is equal to USD 17.7 trillion if converted with the annual average exchange rate， further consolidating Chinas second position in the world. Chinas share of the world economy is expected to surpass 18%.

Chinas foreign trade had excellent performance in the past year despite the gloomy world economy. Its total import and export of goods exceeded USD 6 trillion for the first time， reaching a record high； it increased by about 30% if calculated by the USD， and the growth rate also reached a new high since 2011. It is worth mentioning that in addition to the record growth rate， the structure of exports has also been improving. Data shows that in 2021， Chinas export of mechanical and electrical products reached RMB 12.83 trillion， an increase of 20.4% and accounting for 59% of the total export. More specifically， automatic data processing equipment and its parts， mobile phones and automobiles increased by 12.9%， 9.3% and 104.6% respectively.

In 2021， Chinas development in the field of innovation was also remarkable. The investments in the high-tech industry increased by 17.1%， 12.2 percentage points higher than the total investment. The investments in high-tech manufacturing and services increased by 22.2% and 7.9% respectively. The increase of high-tech investment has stimulated the continuous emergence of new economy， new business forms and new models. Innovation has become the key driving force of Chinas economic development.

According to the Global Innovation Index 2021 released by the world Intellectual Property Organization， Chinas global ranking in the field of innovation has climbed from 35th in 2013 to 12th in 2021， making it the highest ranked middle-income economy in the world.

In the past year， some popular words have frequently attracted public attention. Words such as the 14th Five-Year Plan， “common prosperity”and “double carbon” have anchored the direction and focus of Chinas social and economic development in the future. “The 20 years after Chinas accession to the WTO”， “30 years of Chinas cooperation with ASEAN” and “Chinas application to join CPTPP” have witnessed the achievements and future direction of international economic and trade cooperation. The successive formulations of relevant laws and regulations about “antitrust” and “data security governance” have shown Chinas determination and action to continuously optimize its business environment and combat unfair competition. Against the backdrop of the rise of international protectionism， China insists on opening its door wider to the outside world， building a unified， open and orderly market system， and ensuring that all enterprises have equal legal status and equal opportunities in the market.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out in his video speech at the 2022 World Economic Forum， “despite the great pressure brought about by changes of economic environment both at home and abroad， the fundamentals of Chinas strong economic resilience， potential and long-term improvement have not changed. We are full of confidence in Chinas future economic development.”No matter what changes will take place in the international situation， China will hold high the banner of reform and opening-up. Looking to the future， China will continue to work closely with other countries， create more opportunities through opening up and tackle problems through cooperation. The purpose is to push the world economy onto the track of stable recovery as soon as possible and achieve development with higher quality and resilience.