Economy shows resilience and vibrant dynamism

Moody's decision to affirm China's A1 ratings on Monday is a positive reflection of the improving prospects of the country's economy, the Ministry of Finance said.

Since the fourth quarter of last year, the Chinese government has implemented a series of macroeconomic policies, improved the economic indicators, boosted market expectations and confidence, and ameliorated the medium- and long-term sustainability of debt.

Thanks to effective and targeted policy support and macro adjustment, it is fair to say that China's economy has withstood pressure and maintained stable growth, continuing on a path of positive development amid internal challenges and increasing external shocks.

A series of economic data released by the National Bureau of Statistics last week also confirmed the steady recovery momentum of the economy.

China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of consumption strength, expanded 5.1 percent year-on-year in April to 3.72 trillion yuan ($517.27 billion).

Since consumption is becoming one of the most important drivers of the growth of the Chinese economy and the weathervane of the overall fitness of the economy for its ability to help increase employment and production, the 5.1 percent increase in consumption in April is an encouraging sign that the foundation of growth is being consolidated.

From January to April, the retail sales of consumer goods rose 4.7 percent year-on-year, accelerating from the 4.6-percent growth in the first three months. In the first four months, the index of services production grew by 5.9 percent year-on-year, 0.1 percentage point faster than that of the first quarter, according to the NBS.

Driven by China's consumer goods trade-in program, the sales of home appliances and audio equipment surged by 38.8 percent last month, and the sales of cultural and office goods jumped by 33.5 percent.

In April, the total value of goods imports and exports reached 3.84 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.6 percent year-on-year. From January to April, the import and export volume of general trade grew by 0.6 percent year-on-year.

Given the result of the economic and trade talks between China and the United States in Geneva earlier this month, which prompts US enterprises to sharply increase their orders, China's exports might surge markedly in May, which is conducive to creating jobs and steadying the market's expectation.

More important, China's shift toward intelligent and green development is gaining momentum.

In April, the added value of the intelligent unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturing sector surged by 74.2 percent, while the production of new energy vehicles rose by 38.9 percent.

Breakthroughs in advanced technologies such as large AI models and humanoid robots will further promote industrial upgrading and development.

With the collective emergence of these breakthroughs in the game-changer technology, China's economy is expected to maintain stable performance and steady growth momentum.

Moving forward, a series of incremental and existing policies will work in concert to provide solid support for high-quality growth.

Despite that, the global economy will continue to face multiple risks and challenges, including insufficient momentum, escalating geopolitical conflicts, and a volatile international economic and trade order, leading to increased uncertainty over economic performance.

So the country's efforts to diversify its foreign trade will continue, with policies aimed at promoting foreign trade development, as it firmly believes that the trend of international cooperation for win-win outcomes will not change, and China's commitment to expanding opening-up will remain steadfast.

However strong the headwind is becoming, China will continue to focus on managing its own affairs well. It has full confidence that the economy will fare well by adapting to the fast-changing environment.

With production and consumption demand steadily rising, and the stability and coordination of economic operations improving, the Chinese economy is demonstrating strong resilience and vibrant dynamism.