At the beginning of 2024, when the West was busy constructing a narrative of ‘China's Economic Meltdown’ with no foundation, Harbin, a distant snowy and icy city in NE China has already burst economic heat. Tourism revenue in the first three days of 2024 soared to US $840 million, with accommodation and catering up 129.4% y-o-y.
The 2023 Annual Report of China's Economy showed that this hyperscale-economy is on the rise with large quantity and better quality.
Economy in terms of quantity
Despite external pressure and internal difficulties, China has successfully achieved the targets set for 2023, recorded a rebound and improvements in the economy. China's GDP grew 5.2% y-o-y to a new high of US $17.7 trillion (about 1,472 trillion rupees) last year, contributing the most to world economic growth for the 10th consecutive year.
China has exported more than $150 billion of the ‘New Three’ (EVs, lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products), and produced 25% of the world's grain, 34% cars, over 50% steel and 60% household appliances. The added value of the manufacturing industry accounts for nearly 33% of the world's total, and the export of goods accounts for one-seventh of the world's total. According to a report by the World Bank, China's economic growth in 2023 is 1.5 times that of the US and 16.5 times that of the EU. China's contribution to global economic growth reaches 32 %, more than that of the Americas, Europe, and Japan combined. China is the world's largest economic growth engine.
Golden content of China’s economy
In Indian philosophy, ‘Five Elements’ (Pancha Maha-Bhuta) constitute all things in the world, which coincides with Wuxing in traditional Chinese philosophy. The new development philosophy of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development are the Pancha Maha-Bhuta of the Chinese economy.
Innovation: In 2023, China's Innovation Index rose three places in a row, becoming the only developing country to enter the global top 10. Taking the manufacturing industry as an example, China has established 45 advanced manufacturing clusters with a total output value of $3 trillion. Nearly 10 thousand digital workshops and smart factories have been built, and more than 8,000 "5G+ Industrial Internet" projects have been established, deeply integrating digitalisation with substantial economy. The output of solar cells, EVs, generator sets increased by 54.0%, 30.3% and 28.5% respectively, ranking No.1 in the world in production and sales.
Coordination: With a vast territory, China’s development was uneven in the past. Thanks to measures like the Great Western Development Strategy, All-Round Revitalisation of NE China, the development gap has been effectively narrowed. In 2023, 10 of the 17 Chinese provinces with GDP growth above the national average were in the central and western regions that were previously ‘less developed’. In the Global Innovation Index 2023 report, 14 Chinese cities are listed in the world's top 100 technology clusters, 11 of which are located in central and western China and north-east China.
Openness: Last year, the Chinese Consulate General in Mumbai introduced China International Import Expo (CIIE) to people in Maharashtra. Indian companies and chambers of commerce who attended the meeting positively recognised that China and India are important trading partners and that the vast Chinese market is a good place for Indian companies to trade and sell goods. In 2023, China International Fair for Trade in Services, Canton Fair, Global Digital Trade Expo and China International Supply Chain Expo were successfully held in China. Restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector were fully removed. Last year, our Consulate General issued more than 50 thousand visas for Indian citizens from Maharashtra and Karnataka, and 88% of them were businessmen going to China to do business.
Green: Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains Are Invaluable Assets. Since 2012, China has supported 6.6% annual economic growth with only 3% annual energy consumption growth rate. The installed capacity of hydropower, wind power and photovoltaic power generation ranks FIRST in the world; the production scale of clean energy equipment ranks FIRST; the production and sales volume of EVs rank FIRST for 9 consecutive years; and the number of charging piles built in highways ranks FIRST.
Sharing: The ultimate goal of development is the benefits for all our people. In 2023, China's per capita GDP reached $13,686, a y-o-y increase of 5.4%, exceeding nation’s GDP growth, marking that China has entered the ranks of upper middle-income countries. According to the annual household income of US $14,200 to $72,000 standard, China's middle class population has nearly 500 million. Last year, the per capita disposable income of Chinese residents increased by 6.1%, and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose only 0.2%, far below the expected target of 3%. The surveyed urban unemployment rate dropped to 5.2 %, 0.4 percentage points lower than the previous year and lower than the target of 6 %.
Bright New Year for Chinese economy
The China’s path to modernisation is vast. On the way forward, we hope that Indian friends could find new opportunities in cooperation with China and work together to write a new chapter in the pursuit of peaceful development for developing countries.
