Healthier development of economy will help spur global growth: China Daily editorial

With economic activities in the United States, Europe and Japan curtailed by the pandemic, China is likely to be the only major economy to grow this year.

It is the country's early and successful containment of the spread of the novel coronavirus that has made it possible for its economy to resume normal operations. Almost all its enterprises are running as they used to before the onset of the public health crisis, while most of the other major economies are still struggling to cope with the pandemic.

The latest export data from the General Administration of Customs reinforce this fact. The country's foreign trade expanded 7.8 percent year-on-year last month, with exports jumping 14.9 percent in yuan terms.

With its foreign exports having registered steady growth for six consecutive months, China has been the sole major engine of the world economy and the stabilizer of global trade.

That its trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, its largest trade partner, increased by 6.7 percent year-on-year to 4.24 trillion yuan ($650 billion) from January to November speaks volumes about the momentum of China's foreign trade with its neighboring countries.

The signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership by China, the 10 members of ASEAN, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea in November means the country's economic and trade ties with these countries will continue to develop in the post-pandemic era.

And the fact that China replaced the United States as the European Union's largest trade partner in the third quarter highlights the complementarity of their economies and the potential of their bilateral economic and trade relations, which is evident in the growing number of freight train services between the two economies.

Meanwhile, China's exports to the US grew 6.9 percent year-on-year over the first 11 months this year, indicating how hard it would be to disengage the US economy from that of China. It is actually impossible for the world's largest- and second-largest economies to decouple from each other.

Also noteworthy is the fact the purchasing managers index rose to 52.1 percent last month, and even the PMI of small enterprises increased by 0.7 percentage points. This means that the country's manufacturing industry has further recovered.

Yet, were it not for its relatively complete supply chain and industrial system involving all necessary sectors, it would not be possible for the country to supply the rest of the world with what it required to effectively fight against the pandemic nor provide people with their daily needs.

Despite the great uncertainty caused by the pandemic, China's tight and effective grip on the virus at home will safeguard the smooth recovery of its economy, and its shift to the dual circulation development pattern will ensure it provides greater impetus to the global economy.