A worker checks a chip product at a factory in the Sihong Economic Development Zone in Sihong county, East China's Jiangsu Province on Monday. At present, Sihong county has formed electronic information, new materials, mechanical and electrical equipment and other leading industry development clusters. Photo: VCG

China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), is confident of achieving a smooth start to this year's economy in the first quarter of 2022 while eyeing for a stable, healthy and sustainable growth, an official said on Tuesday. 

Yuan Da, a spokesperson from the NDRC, said that China's economic development in 2022 still faces some grave challenges though the country has realized remarkable achievements in 2021, highlighting that the complicated international environment and unbalanced, insufficient domestic economic development are among the challenges. 

The response came as reporters asked for NDRC's views on economic challenges facing the country during a press conference held on Tuesday. The Central Economic Work Conference in December listed the challenges as "shrinking demand, supply shocks and weakening expectations".

Yuan said that sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks in China will continue to affect domestic consumption, in addition to uncertainties of investment and foreign trade situation in the coming months. 

Micro, small and medium sized enterprises have encountered more difficulties across their normal operations, negatively impacting market expectations and business confidence, Yuan added.

China attained marked performances in economic growth and coronavirus containment last year. The country's national strength is being solidified now, with its GDP exceeding 114 trillion yuan ($17.98 trillion) in 2021, reflecting the increasing resilience of the country's industrial supply chains, Yuan said. 

China posted GDP growth of 8.1 percent in 2021 on Monday, defying market expectations and further consolidating the world's second-largest economy's leading position in the global economy's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Yuan noted that supply shortages have been largely addressed, with the price of coal dropping and power supply stabilized, with over 20 days in coal reserves available. In 2021, the production of semiconductors rose by 33.3 percent from a year ago.

And, the country has been upgrading and promoting the digitalization of a number of critical industries while deepening reform across key fields and accelerating opening-up, said Yuan, adding that the economy will be boosted by higher levels of equality built on favorable government policies.

Global Times