Young people wait in front of snack stalls in a night market in Zhengzhou city, Central China's Henan Province, on April 2, 2023. As the weather warms up, many provinces and cities across the nation have stepped up efforts to boost their night economies in order to spur consumption growth. Photo: VCG

 
China's 5.5-percent first-half GDP growth is the fastest among major economies, with relatively high valuation and quality. The country has the confidence, the conditions, and the ability to achieve full-year economic and social development target, Fu Linghui, a spokesperson for  the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said on Monday. 

According to Fu, the economy began to return to normal track from the beginning of the year, with China's GDP starting off in an upbeat note in the first quarter and the recovery momentum continuing in the second quarter. A rebound across virus-hit consumption and services sectors has accelerated, with a strengthened role in driving the economic growth, while that of industrial and agricultural sectors remained stable, providing a solid foundation for the overall economy.

Fu made the comment at a press briefing organized by the State Council Information Office on Monday. During the press briefing, the NBS released a range of key economic data in the first six months, which all pointed to the resilience of the world's second-largest economy despite multiple headwinds.

According to the latest data, China's second-quarter GDP jumped 6.3 percent year-on-year. And in the first quarter, China's GDP expanded 4.5 percent year-on-year, NBS data showed.

"The 5.5-percent GDP growth is a relatively fast speed in global sphere. In the first quarter, the US, Eurozone, Japan and Brazil reported GDP expansion of 1.8 percent, 1 percent, 1.9 percent, and 4 percent. That means even taking account into the second-quarter reading, China's first-half GDP growth still leads major global economies," Fu said. 

Fu also highlighted China's important supporting role in the global economic development amid a downbeat global landscape. "In recent days, major international institutions have revised economic forecasts upward, and one important reason behind is the recovery of Chinese economy."

According to Fu, the 5.5-percent first-half GDP growth is significantly higher than the 3-percent growth recorded last year. It also compared with an average of 4.5 percent growth during the last three years, when COVID disrupted the operating of the wider economy. 

What's more important is the quality behind the economic growth figure, Chinese officials said. For example, the 5.5-percent GDP growth has underscored an improvement and optimization in economic drivers, from last year's investment and export-driven to consumption and investment-driven this year. In the first half of 2023, the final consumption contributed to over 70 percent of economic growth, according to Fu.

"There are pressures throughout the year, but employment is improving, residents' income is rising, effects from internal demand are strengthening and new economic drives are expanding, which signals the economy's steady recovery and elevation of development quality," Fu said. He stressed that China has the confidence, the condition and the capacity to achieve annual target of around 5 percent set earlier this year.