Li highlights strong economic momentum

Premier Li Qiang highlighted the "strong resilience, vast potential and strong vitality" of the Chinese economy on Tuesday, saying that a prosperous and more open China will inject greater momentum into the global economy.

Li made the remarks in Perth, Western Australia state, when addressing a welcoming luncheon hosted by the Chinese community in Australia before concluding his four-day official visit to the country. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined him in attending the event.

While briefing the attendees about the development of China-Australia relations, the premier also talked about the trajectory of the Chinese economy against the backdrop of sluggish global economic growth.

He said that China's economy has shown strong intrinsic dynamism and resilience, and the nation's development continues its steady progress, with economic performance on a positive trajectory.

Li cited the 5.3-percent GDP growth in the first quarter, saying that despite the challenges, China's overall price levels and employment remain stable, which ensures that people's lives are not significantly affected by inflation.

"China's major economic indicators are better than market expectations, and the momentum of economic transformation and upgrading is robust. New growth drivers, particularly in industries such as equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing, are rapidly expanding," Li said.

"For instance, in April, equipment manufacturing saw a growth rate of 9.9 percent, while high-tech manufacturing grew by 11.7 percent, reflecting significant progress given the high base figures in these industries."

Speaking about the new challenges the Chinese economy is facing, he said that these are part of the development process.

"We believe that these challenges can be addressed and resolved through further development and reform. We have full confidence and ability to sustain the healthy development of the nation's economy."

The World Bank raised its prediction for China's GDP growth rate by 0.3 percentage point to 4.8 percent for 2024 in its latest China Economic Update released on Friday.

"With significant institutional advantages, a vast market demand, a complete industrial system and a highly skilled workforce, China's economy remains resilient and possesses great potential for sustained growth. The trend of long-term positive development trajectory of the Chinese economy remains unchanged," the premier said.

On bilateral ties, Li said that the China-Australia relationship has historically been at the forefront of China's relations with developed countries. Despite facing some difficulties and setbacks in recent years, both sides have worked together to steer the relationship back on track, he said.

"The history and practice of the development of our bilateral relations demonstrate that a healthy and stable China-Australia relationship is in the common interest of our two peoples and meets the shared expectations of regional countries," he said.

Noting that overseas Chinese in Australia play a unique role in promoting economic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, the premier expressed the hope that they would continue to support the development of China-Australia relations, actively promote exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and make greater contributions to consolidating and developing the bilateral ties.

In his speech, Albanese thanked the Chinese community in Australia for their positive contributions to the country's socioeconomic growth and cultural diversity.

Noting that the Australian and Chinese economies are highly complementary, he said that Australia is willing to enhance communication and exchanges with China, deepen cooperation in various fields, and achieve more fruitful results in the development of the countries' relations.

After wrapping up his Australian tour, Li arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday evening for an official visit to Malaysia, the last leg of his three-nation tour, which also took him to New Zealand.