Annual targets within reach as China's economic recovery gains momentum

BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's economic recovery continued to gather steam in November, with multiple indicators showing strong performances, putting the world's second-largest economy on solid footing to meet its 2023 annual growth targets.

Indicators such as industrial output, services production, consumer spending and exports improved last month, and the country is well-positioned to achieve its full-year growth targets, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) spokesperson Liu Aihua told a press conference on Friday.

The country has set an approximate annual economic growth target of 5 percent for 2023, and its economy grew 5.2 percent year on year in the first three quarters.

RECOVERY GAINING MOMENTUM

Value-added industrial output climbed 6.6 percent year on year in November, accelerating from October's 4.6 percent rise and the fastest growth in more than two years.

Retail sales expanded 10.1 percent year on year last month, with the pace of growth accelerating for the fourth consecutive month.

The country's exports in yuan-denominated terms reversed a downward trend, up 1.7 percent year on year in November, rising for the first time since April.

Its services production index increased 9.3 percent year on year in November, with a growth rate 1.6 percentage points faster than the October figure.

Employment remained stable, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate unchanged at 5 percent in November, according to the NBS data.

As the country's macroeconomic policies gradually took effect, the national economy maintained a trend of continuous improvement last month, laying quite a solid foundation for the economy to achieve its full-year targets, Liu said.

The November data came after various international organizations, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank, raised their growth forecasts for China, citing favorable prospects.

"China's stable economic growth has made a significant contribution to global economic recovery," Liu said.

She noted that the country will not experience deflation as the government expects its economy and domestic demand to improve gradually.

Looking forward, Liu warned that the economy still faces lots of unstable and uncertain external factors while domestic demand has remained sluggish, and efforts should be taken to cement the foundation for economic recovery further.

INNOVATION DRIVING GROWTH

China has continued to promote innovation-driven development, with its ranking on the Global Innovation Index, which is released by the World Intellectual Property Organization, climbing from 35th in 2013 to 12th this year.

As the country's economic recovery continued apace, new growth drivers prospered to become bright spots in the economy. Analysts believe this will underpin the country's longer-term development.

Last month, high-tech manufacturing registered a 6.2 percent increase in industrial output, up 4.4 percentage points from October.

High-tech products such as solar cells, services robots and integrated circuits continued to perform phenomenally in November, with output surging 44.5 percent, 33.3 percent and 27.9 percent, respectively.

The production and sales of new energy vehicles totaled 8.43 million units and 8.3 million units during the January-November period, with those figures respectively surging 34.5 percent and 36.7 percent year on year.

Online retail sales of physical goods rose 8.3 percent year on year during the first 11 months, accounting for 27.5 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

FUNDAMENTALS REMAIN SOUND

Despite headwinds from home and abroad, the country's economic development is underpinned by various favorable conditions, including a vast domestic market, a complete industrial system, a large talent pool, deepened reform and opening-up, and ample policy space, Liu said.

"The country's long-term sound fundamentals remain unchanged," she said.

China has built the largest high-speed rail and expressway networks on the planet, as well as world-class ports, and its population of 1.4 billion -- with a 400-million-strong middle-income group -- comprises an enormous market, said Wu Hao, an official of the National Development and Reform Commission.

"If we make full use of the immense market, the potential and vigor of the Chinese economy will be continuously unleashed," Wu said.

In the next 15 years, China's middle-income group is expected to exceed 800 million, driving the development of its enormous market further.