Latest data again reflect resilience of Chinese economy: China Daily editorial

That China achieved positive GDP growth, of 0.4 percent year-on-year, in the second quarter of 2022 despite suffering worse-than-expected shocks is astonishing. That reflects the resilience of the Chinese economy.

With the economy growing 2.5 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2022, the added value of the industrial sector, service sector, fixed-asset investment and total consumer goods retail reached 20 trillion yuan ($2.95 trillion), 30 trillion yuan, 27 trillion yuan and 21 trillion yuan respectively. Which means China's economic fundamentals remain stable and foundation strong, and the economy can beat the risks and challenges in the second half of the year.

In the first half, the triple factors of demand contraction, supply shock and weakening expectations were the major causes of the decline in the growth rate. However, the economy withstood multiple pressures in the second quarter, which helped the major indicators to stabilize, even rise in June, and ended their months-long declining trend.

While exports surged 13.2 percent in the first half, consumption ended a three-month decline to grow 3.1 percent in June thanks to the containment of the sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks in several places.

More important, the pace with which the country is upgrading manufacturing has been steady despite the mounting downward pressures. For instance, investment in manufacturing grew the fastest, exceeding 10 percent year-on-year, in the first half, showing the country is sticking to its charted course of economic restructuring and industrial upgrading.

That investment in the real estate sector fell by 5.4 percent in the first half suggests the economy is shifting away from real estate-led growth to high-tech- and innovation-driven growth.

The fact that China's consumer price index grew only 2.3 percent in the second quarter and 1.7 percent in the first half while inflation hit decades-high levels in all major economies also testifies to the resilience of the Chinese economy.

Besides, the unemployment rate fell from 6.1 percent in April to 5.3 percent in June, and people's disposable income surged 3 percent in the first half. And although some major economic indicators fell sharply in April, the central authorities' macro-control policy ensured their slide was quickly arrested. Consequently, the economy stabilized, and picked up in June.

Yet the economic environment is marked by uncertainties which could affect development. To keep the economic growth within an appropriate, healthy range, the policymakers need to minimize those uncertainties, as well as guard against inflation, particularly imported inflation, and maintain continuity in macro policy, which incidentally should be more targeted at helping micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and individual businesses.

Moreover, the government should refrain from taking excessive quantitative easing measures to avoid exploiting in advance the development potential of the future.