Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin Photo: mfa.gov.cn

Chinese economy is rebounding and the long-term trajectory of positive growth is unlikely to change, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a press conference on Wednesday. 

With the continuous high-quality development and high-level opening-up, China's economy will accelerate its transformation and upgrade, making greater contributions to the global economy.

The remark comes as multiple foreign financial institutions and investment banks including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank raised China's 2024 GDP growth outlook after the economy expanded by 5.3 percent in the first quarter. 

Goldman Sachs raised its forecast for China's GDP growth this year from 4.8 percent to 5.0 percent, while Morgan Stanley has increased its economic growth expectations for China from 4.2 percent to 4.8 percent. 

Deutsche Bank upgraded its forecast for China's GDP growth this year to 5.2 percent, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from its previous estimate.

Wang noted that a report from United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimated that China will achieve the economic growth of around 5 percent this year. 

According to the US consulting firm Kearney, China has moved up from the seventh place last year to third place this year in terms of foreign investment confidence.

And, China will be the top contributor to global growth over the next five years, according to Bloomberg calculations.

Wang said that in the first quarter this year, China's economy got off to a robust start, with consumption, investment, and exports running smoothly. 

China's GDP expanded by 5.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, with domestic demand contributing 85.5 percent to the growth, serving as the main driving force behind the economic expansion.

China's retail sales grew 4.7 percent year-on-year to 12.03 trillion yuan ($1.66 trillion) in the first quarter, while industrial added-value was up 6.1 percent, and fixed-asset investment rose by 4.5 percent to 10 trillion yuan. 

In the first three months, in yuan terms, total imports and exports grew by 5 percent year-on-year to reach 10.17 trillion yuan.

At the Hannover Industrial Fair which opened on Monday, Schneider Electric displayed a range of industrial software products in a large exhibition area of nearly 2,000 square meters.

The company highlighted its confidence in China, saying that China is not only the second largest market for it, but also the most important supply chain base and one of the four largest R&D bases in the world. 

We will continue to work with Chinese partners to jointly enhance the overall competitiveness of the industrial chain and help China accelerate high-quality and sustainable development, the company said.