German expert confident about China's economic prospects

FRANKFURT, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- After overcoming challenging situations in 2022, China's economy is now well-positioned to expand in 2023, Horst Loechel, professor of economics at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

He said that China is on track to achieve 5-plus percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2023. The second quarter could see an upswing, followed by solid growth in the second half of the year.

Backed by an active fiscal policy, various actions have been rolled out by the country to promote innovation and improve infrastructure, which will boost economic growth in the long run, Loechel said.

As the inflation rate in China is comparatively low and is not expected to get worse, monetary policy would have some wiggle room, he said.

Acknowledging the strong resilience of China's economy, Loechel said that the country's optimization of its COVID-19 response would boost business confidence and lead to stronger growth.

Foreign companies can also expect to explore more business opportunities in the Chinese market, Loechel said, citing the recent investment there by German engineering and technology company Bosch.

With a total investment of over 1 billion U.S. dollars, Bosch has recently established a new base in the city of Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu province. "It's the same with other companies. The business community has great confidence in China," Loechel noted.

Between 2020 and 2022, China maintained an average annual economic growth of over 4.5 percent, which exceeded the global average by a wide margin.

Noting that 25 percent of the world's economic growth is contributed by China, the world's largest trading nation, Loechel said China plays an enormous role in promoting economic growth and easing global supply chain bottlenecks.

Increased supply of goods and services through the global supply chain will lower inflation, which will also be beneficial for the Western economies, he said.