China's economy to pump energy in global economic recovery: spokesperson

BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese economy will continue to serve as an engine of growth and contribute to global economic recovery, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

The latest reports issued by the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) both noted that China's reopening will provide impetus for world economic growth. The World Bank predicted that China's economy will grow by 5.6 percent in 2023 and the OECD set this figure at 5.4 percent.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that several international organizations and institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have recently raised their forecast for China's growth. Some of them even revised up the forecast more than once.

"It shows their confidence in China's economic prospect. The Chinese economy will continue to serve as an engine of growth and contribute to global economic recovery," he said.

"We have also seen senior executives of many transnational corporations coming to China recently, which is also a vote of confidence for China's economy," he added.

Foreign businesses value the enormous opportunities brought by China's robust economic recovery and consider the improving business environment here a favorable sign. They are upbeat about the Chinese market and ready to invest in all aspects in China, Wang said.

According to a recent report by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, 97 percent of the surveyed foreign companies rated China's foreign investment policy since the fourth quarter of last year "satisfied" or above. The satisfaction rate in terms of accessing financial services and market access exceeded 80 percent, Wang noted.

A report issued by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China indicates that the size of China's market, strong demand, the fast pace of commercialization of R&D results and ample local talents steer a large share of European companies towards deeper localization, and close to 60 percent of the companies surveyed said that they would increase R&D expenditure in China in the coming five years, according to the spokesperson.

An AmCham China survey shows that 66 percent of U.S. companies in China will maintain or increase investment in China in the coming two years, he added.

China will remain firmly committed to advancing high-level opening up and providing a more market-oriented, law-based and world-class business environment for companies of all countries, Wang said.

"We welcome more foreign companies to invest in China, explore the Chinese market and share in China's development dividends," the spokesperson added.