New driving forces from innovative production capacities had contributed significantly to the steady improvement of the Chinese economy in the first half of 2024, experts said after the release of official data on the nation's economic performance in the first six months on Monday.
Data from the country's National Bureau of Statistics showed that the gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5 percent year on year in the first six months of the year, reaching nearly 62 trillion yuan, or about 8.65 trillion U.S. dollars.
"In the first half of the year, China's economy continued its trend of stable growth and steady recovery. Particularly notable were advancements in industrial added value, service consumption, foreign trade exports, manufacturing investment, and the development of high-tech industries. The emergence of new quality productive forces from innovative production capacities contributed to a strong overall economic performance, indicating a promising direction towards new growth," said Huang Hanquan, head of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research affiliated with China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
Consumption, domestic investment and foreign trade remained the three major engines driving China's economic growth, according to the data.
Boosted by supportive policies, retail sales of consumer goods rose 3.7 percent from a year ago. Services consumption stood out as a bright spot.
Fixed-asset investment went up by 3.9 percent on a yearly basis in the first six months. In particular, investment in high-tech industries showed robust growth, up by 10.6 percent.
In terms of foreign trade, the volume jumped 6.1 percent year on year during the same period. The trade structure continued to improve, with foreign trade by private enterprises up 11.2 percent year on year.
Wei Qijia, a research fellow with the State Information Center, also an NDRC affiliation, believed high technologies have forged new growth drivers that play an increasingly important role in the overall economic performance.
"Certain industries employing advanced technologies have shown significant improvements in indicators such as investment and others. For instance, new growth points arising from the energy conservation and carbon reduction sectors have emerged. These industries are increasingly playing a crucial role in stabilizing the overall economy," said Wei.
New drivers from innovative production capacities contribute to steady improvement of Chinese economy: economists
A survey released by CGTN to global netizens shows that respondents strongly condemn the U.S.'s unilateral bullying of other countries under the pretext of "reciprocal tariffs," saying that this move may trigger countermeasures from other countries and eventually evolve into a "tariff world war," seriously impacting the world economy.
The U.S. claims that it has suffered losses in international trade and is raising tariffs on all trading partners under the pretext of "reciprocity," aiming to reduce the trade deficit. However, 81.03 percent of global respondents do not agree with this, believing that such measures will not achieve the expected results. During his first term in office, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on major trading partners. According to statistics from the American Action Forum, a think tank, Trump's protectionist policies during the first term cost U.S. consumers about 57 billion U.S. dollars annually. According to the survey, 81.94 percent of respondents believe that "reciprocal tariffs" cannot solve U.S.'s own problems but will only harm the interests of U.S. consumers and drag down the U.S. economic growth.
The competitiveness of products from different countries varies. Each country can set appropriate tariffs based on its own products to achieve "mutual benefit" in the international market. The "tariff farce" of the U.S. side is a selective disregard for the balance of interests reached through multilateral trade negotiations. Some 82.8 percent of the respondents point out that in the context of unequal economic development and economic strength of different countries, the U.S. insistence on full and complete reciprocity in tariffs is extremely irrational.
The majority of the U.S. tariffs this time are targeted at developing countries. Regarding this, 82.96 percent of the respondents condemn the U.S. for conducting "indiscriminate attacks" on other countries on the issue of tariffs, believing that this is a deprivation of the development rights of other countries, especially developing countries. According to the survey, 84.43 percent of the respondents believe that the U.S.'s imposition of "reciprocal tariffs" will exacerbate the problem of trade unfairness with its trading partners and traditional allies, seriously damaging the country's credibility.
As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the U.S. has unilaterally and subjectively introduced so-called "reciprocal tariffs" and insisted on implementing them. This is a typical act of unilateral bullying. In response, 79.47 percent of the respondents criticize the U.S. for seriously violating the rules of the WTO. In the survey, 79.58 percent of the respondents say that "reciprocal tariffs" have become a new tool for the U.S. to promote trade protectionism, which will further intensify international trade tensions and global economic fragmentation.
This survey was released on CGTN's English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian platforms. Within 24 hours, a total of 9,600 overseas netizens participated in the survey and expressed their views.
CGTN poll: US 'reciprocal tariffs' draw condemnation from world
