CGTN poll: With GDP over 140 trillion yuan, China stands as a pillar of certainty in an uncertain world

The gross domestic product (GDP) for the full year reached 140.19 trillion yuan ($20.12 trillion), a year-on-year increase of 5 percent at constant prices. China's 2025 economic "report card" has brought more warmth to the global economy, which is still enduring a cold spell. Resilience underpins confidence, and transformation brings opportunities – the "gold content" of China's high-quality development continues to rise. According to a global survey conducted by CGTN, 82.6 percent of respondents stated that China's vision of high-quality economic development is guiding the trend of the global economy.

As the world's second-largest economy, China's total import and export value of goods trade surpassed 45 trillion yuan (about $6.52 trillion) last year, achieving growth for the ninth consecutive year despite rising protectionism and setbacks in economic globalization. The survey shows that 86.6 percent of respondents believe China's continuously expanding and upgrading large-scale market provides more development opportunities for other countries. Additionally, 83.6 percent of respondents agree that the 15th Five-Year Plan sets out measures to promote high-level opening-up, once again demonstrating that China remains a steadfast supporter of economic globalization and a firm defender of multilateralism.

Recently, the World Economic Forum released the Global Risks Report 2026, pointing out that global geopolitical and economic risks continue to intensify. In the survey, 89.3 percent of respondents believe that "geoeconomic confrontation" and "armed conflicts between nations" represent the greatest uncertainties and challenges currently facing the world economy. It is worth noting that China's economic achievements have been realized amid heightened global economic uncertainty, sluggish growth in many economies, and trade wars launched by the United States worldwide.

The survey shows that 85.2 percent of respondents believe that various forms of unilateralism and protectionist practices not only fail to address the structural challenges of the world economy but also undermine the foundation for global economic recovery. Meanwhile, 93.2 percent of respondents criticize the United States for frequently using tariffs as a weapon, saying it has become the biggest "source of risk" dragging down both its own and global economic growth prospects. Additionally, 85.9 percent of respondents believe that unilateral bullying actions under the principle of "America First" are severely impacting economic globalization.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 has set its theme as "The Spirit of Dialogue," calling on countries to address the structural challenges facing the global economy through dialogue. The survey shows that 83.4 percent of respondents believe that in the face of global challenges such as trade protectionism and de-globalization, countries should resolve differences by strengthening dialogue and cooperation; 84.1 percent believe that the Global South is playing an increasingly important role in safeguarding and strengthening the multilateral trading system and in promoting a more inclusive and equitable economic globalization; and 96.3 percent of respondents call on countries to boost economic resilience – through trade diversification and regional cooperation – to handle external pressures and stabilize the global economy.

The survey was released on CGTN's English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian platforms, with 10,044 netizens voting and expressing their opinions within 24 hours.