A view of Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province Photo: VCG

China's economy has the conditions to achieve the expected growth target of around 5 percent this year, which gives the international community a boost of confidence amid many uncertainties in the world economy, Lin Jian, spokesperson from China's Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday.

Lin made the remarks in response to mixed comments from international media on China's economy. Some pundits are skeptical of Chinese economy's ability to achieve its growth target, alleging the economy has fallen "in trouble." At the same time, there have been more positive voices saying that China's economic growth has exceeded expectations, providing a proof that China's economic governance is effective.

In response, Lin said that, last year, China's economy contributed to one-third of global growth with an impressive growth rate of 5.2 percent. This year, the country has set a growth target of around 5 percent, giving the international community a confidence boost against the headwinds facing the world economy.

Since the beginning of the year, the fundamentals of China's economy have continued to improve, and the positive factors driving the economic recovery have strengthened. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, value-added industrial output increased by 7 percent year-on-year during the January-February period, and total retail sales of consumer goods rose 5.5 percent on a yearly basis, with investment in the manufacturing sector soaring 9.4 percent, and the foreign trade was up 8.7 percent, ushering in a good start to the year.

A number of international mainstream media outlets noted that China's economy achieved a stable start in 2024, and an IMF report predicted that China would be the main contributor to global growth this year. Executives from HSBC and other financial institutions said that China's economy has entered a benign development track now, and that China is still a hot spot for foreign-invested enterprises to invest, according to Lin.

In January this year, China welcomed 4,588 new foreign-invested enterprises, up 74.4 percent year-on-year. Investment in China from Western developed countries has increased significantly, Lin added.

Lin noted China recently has released an action plan to promote high quality opening-up to attract more foreign investment, continuing to focus on creating a market-oriented, legalized and international first-class business environment, in a bid to better service and protect foreign-funded enterprises to invest and operate in China. 

"The Chinese government will continue to promote the modernization with Chinese characteristics with high-quality development, continue to expand high-level opening-up, therefore bringing more benefits to the world, contributing more momentum to global development, and sharing more development opportunities with other countries," Lin said.


Global Times