China still 'anchor and source of strength' for global growth, says FM spokesperson

China will remain "an anchor and source of strength" for world economic growth, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Wang Wenbin made the remarks following the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s projection of China's real gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 5.4 percent in 2023 and 4.6 percent in 2024, both up by 0.4 percentage point relative to the World Economic Outlook released in October.

IMF's First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said on Tuesday "the Chinese economy is on track to meet the government's 2023 growth target, reflecting a strong post-COVID recovery."

The IMF's latest projection comes after JPMorgan, UBS, Deutsche Bank and other financial institutions recently raised their own growth forecast for the Chinese economy.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday that the Chinese economy has shown "strong resilience, potential and dynamism" since the year began, despite the complex and severe external environment, such as the sluggish global economic recovery and high global inflation.

"We have been upgrading the industrial structure, shifting from old drivers of growth to new ones, and opening up new areas and new arenas in development," said Wang.

IMF's Senior Resident Representative in China said that China remains the single largest contributor to global growth and accounts for one third of it, according to Wang.

According to the latest survey by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, nearly 70 percent of the surveyed foreign-funded enterprises expressed their confidence in the prospects of the Chinese market for the next five years, he added.

Wang said, foreign businesses have been enthusiastic in taking part in the China International Import Expo, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, the Canton Fair and the China International Consumer Products Expo, which speaks to their readiness to keep exploring the Chinese market.

"We will continue to advance high-level opening up, promote high-quality development, share new opportunities with the world brought by Chinese modernization and make even greater contribution to global economic recovery, development and prosperity," he said.

(Cover: File photo of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin. /Chinese Foreign Ministry)