Chinese Premier Li Qiang addresses the opening ceremony of the Summer Davos Forum, north China's Tianjin Municipality, China, June 27, 2023. /Xinhua
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The World Economic Forum's (WEF) 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC), also known as the Summer Davos, concluded in Tianjin, China on June 29. About 1,500 participants from nearly 100 countries and regions gathered in China to discuss co-development and innovation.
During the opening ceremony, China's Premier Li Qiang stated that China's economic growth is accelerating and the country can hit its 5 percent target this year. However, despite these positive remarks, some Western media outlets have been criticizing China's economy, claiming that its recovery has lost momentum and that its road to economic recovery is bumpy.
Undermining confidence in the Chinese economy has always been an eye-catching trick for some Western media outlets. In fact, the Chinese economy has gradually seen signs of improvement since June. From June 1 to 18 shopping spree, China's express delivery exceeded 400 million pieces on a daily basis, showing that the market scale has further expanded.
The Chinese economy also had a good performance at the Dragon Boat Festival, a three-day holiday. According to the China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 106 million domestic tourism trips were made in China during the festival, an increase of 32.3 percent year-on-year. China generated a domestic tourism revenue of 37.31 billion yuan ($ 5.14 billion), a year-on-year increase of 44.5 percent.
To further consolidate the basis for economic recovery, China has introduced a slew of macroeconomic measures to stimulate consumptions and promote stability. On June 20, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) trimmed its one-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 10 basis points, signaling other combined policies are in the making.
A session themed "Braving the Headwinds: Rewiring Growth Amid Fragility" at the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, Tianjin, China, June 27, 2023. /Xinhua
What is the potential of the Chinese economy and whether the economic recovery can be sustained? Many international organizations have given their answers. Chair of the Tianjin Chapter of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China Christoph Schrempp recognized the potentiality and popularity of the Chinese market. President of the American Chamber of Commerce in China Michael Hart also expressed his confidence in the Chinese market as China has huge consumer groups.
The UN, the IMF, the World Bank, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have all raised expectations for the Chinese economy. Financial institutions including Blackstone, JPMorgan, and Citigroup are more optimistic, forecasting Chinese economic growth rate to exceed 6 percent this year – beyond China's goal of 5 percent.
Multinational corporations have a considerable say on whether China is experiencing a lackluster recovery or has a bright future. This year, a number of high-ranking officials from companies such as Tesla, JPMorgan, Apple, and Starbucks – including CEOs Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon, Tim Cook, and Laxman Narasimhan – have made trips to China, which has grabbed international attention.
This week, Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH, has arrived in China for his first visit to the country. Before Arnault's visit, LVMH Chief Financial Officer Jean-Jacques Guiony said in an earnings call that the company was "extremely optimistic" about its prospects in China for 2023.
According to China's Ministry of Commerce, from January to May this year, over 18,500 new foreign-invested enterprises were established nationwide, up 38.3 percent year on year. And data from China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange shows that in the past five years, China's foreign direct investment (FDI) rate of return is 9.1 percent, higher than that of Europe and the United States, which is about 3 percent, and that of emerging economies, which is about 4-8 percent.
The willingness of foreign companies to continue deepening their presence in the Chinese market and investing in China is also the best endorsement of their full confidence in the prospects of China's economic development.
A container terminal at Lianyungang Port, Jiangsu Province, China, May 9, 2023. /Xinhua
It is not difficult to understand that the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to the world economy in the past three years. To recover, we need not only strategies, plans, and roadmaps, but also the confidence of countries working together to build a better future.
Some Western media's pessimistic assessments of China's economy will not provide the answers for how to restore confidence and find the growth points and driving forces that lead to economic recovery.
China has been an important source of impetus for the steady growth of the world economy over the past decade. It is believed that in the process of global economic recovery, countries need to work together and push the ship of the world economy forward, breaking through the fog and sailing ahead!
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