Photo: VCG
"China reported surprisingly robust economic activity to start the year," said The Wall Street Journal in its assessment of China's recent economic data. On Monday, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on China's economic performance of the first two months of 2025. Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, noted that the Chinese economy started the year on a steady note, and new quality productive forces continued to grow. At the same time, the plan on special initiatives to boost consumption was launched, and the strategy of continuously expanding domestic demand has also boosted foreign investors' confidence in being bullish on and betting on China.
The actual performance of China's economy is reflected in the rising momentum of its capital markets and external expectations. First, Chinese tech companies have delivered an impressive performance in the global capital markets since the beginning of the year. French bank Societe Generale has dubbed seven Chinese tech firms - Tencent, Alibaba, Xiaomi, SMIC, BYD, JD.com and NetEase - as the "Seven Titans." The stock value growth rates of these companies have significantly outpaced those of the US "Magnificent Seven."
Analysts widely believe that technological breakthroughs are the key drivers of market confidence. China's domestically developed DeepSeek AI system has achieved major breakthroughs in core areas such as natural language processing, boosting the valuation of AI businesses at companies like Tencent and Alibaba. The FT Chinese recently published an article titled "See China Clearly, Bet on China," describing China's economy as still in its youthful stage. More and more observers are convinced that the groundbreaking achievements of Chinese tech companies are no coincidence but rather a concentrated manifestation of China's deep-rooted innovation strength.
The recovery of the consumer market reflects the multifaceted vitality of China's economy. Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that in the first two months of the year, total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 4 percent year-on-year, with the growth rate accelerating by 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous year.
During the Spring Festival holidays, domestic tourist trips rose by 5.9 percent year-on-year, while transaction volume on tourism service platforms increased by more than 20 percent in the first two months of 2025. The Spring Festival box office surpassed 9.5 billion yuan, with
Ne Zha 2 breaking multiple records. The explosive growth of cultural consumption underscores the Chinese cultural confidence. With the recent launch of the plan on special initiatives to boost consumption, a series of practical measures aimed at stimulating consumption will strengthen purchasing power, stabilize expectations, and enhance confidence.
The strategic moves of foreign enterprises provide a key perspective on observing China's economy. On March 17, BMW Group announced a partnership with Huawei to develop an in-car digital ecosystem based on the Harmony operating system. This cross-continental handshake between Europe and Asia has been hailed by industry experts as a significant milestone in China's transition from a follower to a rule-maker in the smart automotive ecosystem. On the same day, Volkswagen Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China's First Automobile Works, planning to launch "11 new models tailored for the Chinese market" from 2026, demonstrating its deeply localized strategy of "in China, for China." Additionally, Subway plans to open 4,000 stores in China over the next 20 years, and Starbucks' revenue in China has resumed growth. These investments by international brands represent a vote of confidence in the resilience of China's consumer market, backed by real financial commitments.
Behind these economic phenomena, a clear development logic runs throughout. On one hand, new quality productive forces are reshaping the engine of economic growth. From factory workshops to R&D laboratories, from the transformation of traditional industries to the cultivation of emerging industries, China is forging a new path of development characterized by higher quality, better efficiency, and optimized structure. Under the guidance of technological innovation, China is accelerating the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries toward high-end, intelligent, and green development, which not only injects new momentum into high-quality industrial development but also brings vast opportunities for global investors and enterprises.
On the other hand, China has been continuously expanding its high-level opening-up, and this path is becoming increasingly broad. In the process of actively participating in creating a sense of gain and happiness for the vast population of China, foreign capital shares in the dividends of "betting on China." Ralf Brandstätter, chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group China, recently stated in an interview that "our new technology set-up, exclusively tailored to China will enable our joint ventures to respond even more quicker and effectively to new customer requirements and market changes in the future."
When the international media focus on China's "better-than-expected" performance at the beginning of the year, it is important to recognize that the underlying logic of China's development lies in several key factors: the vast market of over 1.4 billion people, efficient and effective policy deployment, a welcoming attitude toward foreign capital, the continuous emergence of long-term innovative vitality, and the intrinsic motivation driven by a "people-centered" development philosophy. In the current context of a global economy lacking momentum, China is demonstrating to the world through concrete actions that it is not only a fertile ground for investment but also a stage for cooperation. It is foreseeable that this year will be another "year of confidence" for external observers who are bullish on and betting on China.
