Beijing CBD Photo: VCG

China's new journey toward modernity, featuring high-quality development, will bring fresh opportunities to both the world's developed countries and developing ones, deputies and members at the ongoing two sessions have noted.

Their views were echoed by economists and foreign company executives interviewed by the Global Times, who said that China's path to modernization, which emphasizes inclusiveness and opening-up, will offer great benefits to the world.

As China embarks on a new journey of building itself into a great modern socialist country in all respects, its high-quality development including emphasis on green development and more balanced development between costal regions and hinterland, will be a boon to world economy and global companies, according to deputies and members at the two sessions.

Shan Zenghai, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress and chief engineer of Chinese construction equipment giant XCMG, said his company is playing its due part in promoting Chinese modernization by pushing forward the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry.

China-made construction machinery has been found in an increasing number of new global landmarks, from the largest new-energy project in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Lusail Stadium in Qatar to the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, Shan told the Global Times.

Gu Xueming, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said foreign investors have an important role to play as China charts its course to modernity, fostering a new development pattern and push for high-quality growth, according to a Xinhua report.

Despite that China's modest growth target will likely rule out a boost to fiscal stimulus spending, analysts with ANZ research still see a focus on energy security will accelerate spending on renewable energy.

"We expect a record amount of construction this year, which should boost demand for commodities like copper and aluminum. This will be aided by a strong increase in grid infrastructure investment," according to a research note sent to the Global Times on Friday.

As global institutions revise up China's growth forecast following China's optimization of epidemic control measures, foreign companies are ramping up efforts to seek new opportunities.

Ye Xiaowei, senior vice president of Qualcomm, said in his meeting with a National Development and Reform Commission official earlier this week that the US chipmaker is willing to continue to make contributions to China's high-quality development, according to a NDRC press release posted on Thursday.

Achievements

Over the past decade, China has made historic achievements in terms of economic and social development, including maintaining world-leading economic growth, eradicating absolute poverty and successfully building the world's most-populous country into a moderately prosperous society in all respects - which have inspired national pride and confidence in the country's new journey ahead, experts noted.

Despite lingering risks and challenges from global changes unseen in a century and intensifying ill-intended attempts by the US to suppress and contain China, China's economic and social development is bound to reach new heights in the coming years, offering greater contribution to world peace and development, experts said.

In the past decade, China saw historic achievements in economic and social development. Between 2013 and 2022, China maintained an annual GDP growth rate of 6.2 percent on average. From 2020 to 2022, despite serious downward pressure from various factors including trade tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic, China registered an annual growth rate of 4.5 percent. In contrast, the US only saw annualized growth of 1.7 percent during the period.

"On top of effectively controlling the epidemic, China also ensured the overall stability and progress of the economic operation, which is a very hard-won achievement," Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times, noting that China's development over the past decade was high quality, having taking into account the people, the environment and the globe.

Li drew a stark contrast between China's "progressive" and "inclusive" development and the US' "regressive" and "divisive" development. "Progressive development is about embracing globalization, while regressive development is about tearing up globalization," Li said.

Over the past decade, China maintained its status as the world's largest trader in goods for 6 consecutive years, signed a series of major free-trade agreements with other countries, including the world's biggest trade pact, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) also saw immense progress, having galvanized nearly $1 trillion of investment, created 420,000 local jobs, and helped lift almost 40 million people out of poverty, according to official data.

"Unlike the West's approach of exploitation, China stresses cooperation and win-win result," Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times. "While the US is making all kinds of noise in the short term, China's mutually beneficial and win-win development is in line with the development interests of most countries and therefore will be welcomed."

Confidence in new journey

China's achievements in economic and social development as well as its rising global standing over the past decade also inspire great national pride and confidence in the country's new journey toward modernization, experts noted.

2023 is the first year of fully implementing the guiding principles set forth by the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which drew up an inspiring blueprint for building China into a modern socialist country in all respects.

Since the 20th CPC National Congress in October, China's top leadership has issued various policy priorities in pursing Chinese modernization, with an emphasis on building a new pattern of development, which is a strategic decision to realize the Second Centenary Goal and ensure both development and security.

Under this new pattern of development, China has prioritized boosting domestic demand, while also continuing to expand global cooperation. Both agendas will mean great opportunities for the world, developed and developing countries alike.

"China's status as the world's manufacturing superpower and the world's second largest luxury market all mean China will continue to provide opportunities to the world," Cong said.

Fifteen months into operation, the number of daily train services of the China-Laos railway has grown sixfold to 12, with the cargo items growing from 100 to over 2,000, and the railway's role as "a corridor of wealth" is increasing day by day, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday.

AUDI AG CEO Markus Duesmann, who is one of the very first global CEOs to have visited China since the optimization of epidemic control measures, told the Global Times on Friday in an exclusive interview that he is very confident on the strong growth potential of the Chinese market and he is seeking another decade of glory in China.

"I got my visa ready on Monday and by Thursday I was in Changchun, Northeast China, where we have substantial investment," the CEO said, noting his eagerness to see China firsthand.

Looking ahead, part of the risks and challenges to be faced by China come from the US' relentless attempt to suppress and contain the country, experts said, noting that some Western media outlets constantly hype the "China collapse" theory and are also obsessed with whether China will overtake the US to become the world's biggest economy.

"Regardless of growth speed, China, first and foremost, has the room for future development as it moves up toward becoming a modern socialist country," Cong said. "The overall trend of development is irreversible. As long as we keep doing our own things well, we will succeed," Cong said.

China's development goal is not about overtaking any other country in certain indexes, but about overall improvement in economic and national strength, experts said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Tuesday described the US' suppression and containment as a dishonest runner in an Olympic race who doesn't want to do his best but wants to trip his rival.

"Ill intentions and poor fundamentals will not do athletes any good," Li said.