Editor's Note: Yang Hangjun is a professor and associate dean of the School of International Trade and Economics, University of International Business and Economics. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has been actively engaged in international cooperation to combat the crisis and has made important contributions to the global fight against the virus. China has provided more than 2.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine to over 120 countries and international organizations. It has also provided massive amounts of anti-pandemic supplies to more than 150 countries and 15 international organizations, and dispatched expert medical teams to 34 countries. China is playing an active role in controlling the pandemic and achieving stable economic recovery for the entire world.

During the past three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has spread around the world and the virus has continued to mutate. Coupled with other important factors such as the trade frictions between China and the United States and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the global supply chain has been severely disrupted and the world economy is recovering slowly.

As the "world's factory," China has the most complete and largest industrial system on the planet and plays a "ballast" role in the global supply chain. China took the global lead in resuming production by implementing strict COVID-19 prevention measures and developing a set of effective methods to resume production. That helped make China the most stable and reliable production base in the world during the pandemic. It is because of China's determination to fight the pandemic that the world avoided a more serious challenge. The year 2020 saw China's economy expand 2.2% during the worst part of the global pandemic. That made it the only major economy in the world with positive growth. China's economic development provided a significant contribution to global economic stability.

China has continuously improved its COVID-19 response efforts. It has coordinated pandemic prevention and control measures with economic and social development, and has made important contributions to ensuring the stability and smoothness of the global supply chain while promoting the expansion of the world economy. China's economic growth reached 8.1% in 2021, far ahead of other major economies. Moreover, China's total import and export of goods grew 21.4% in 2021, exceeding a record $6 trillion. From January to November 2022, China's total import and export of goods expanded 8.6% year-on-year. While sharing its large market with the world, China continues to steadily deliver cost-effective products internationally and help maintain the stability of the global supply chain.

The pandemic remains at a high level globally and the virus continues to mutate, so there is still great uncertainty about the pandemic and the world economy. However, the long-term positive fundamentals of the Chinese economy remain unchanged, China's position as an important engine of global economic growth remains unchanged, and the international community's confidence in the Chinese economy remains unchanged as well.

China will continue to communicate and cooperate extensively with countries around the world to lead the global economic recovery. As China actively improves its COVID-19 response measures, domestic and international institutions predict that the country's economy will experience a restorative rebound in 2023, giving greater strength to the world economy.