Steady Chinese economic growth benefits the world

Premier Li Keqiang delivers the Government Work Report during the opening meeting of the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 5, 2017. [Photo by Xu Jingxing/China Daily]

For those who monitor the Chinese economy, it is not surprising that its growth rate has slowed in recent years, given its restructuring and reform efforts, and the difficult external economic environment.

Yet, despite this, they will be aware that it has remained one of the main engines for the global economy.

The Government Work Report, delivered by Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday, summed up the hard-won achievements China made last year and the role the country has played in boosting global growth, which, despit its own slower whole-year GDP growth of 6.7 percent, was still more than 30 percent. To put that in perspective, by comparison, the contribution of the United States was about 16 percent last year.

However, China's contribution to the world economy is not only its own reasonably high economic growth rate, but also its restructuring and reform efforts.

For example, its current account surplus to GDP ratio has fallen from 10 percent to 3 percent over the past decade, indicating important headway has been made in rebalancing its foreign trade and domestic economic activities.

And, last year, China's consumption contributed 64.6 percent to its GDP growth, an unmistakable sign of the progress it is making in restructuring its economy, a task which Li described as being like the "struggle from chrysalis to butterfly".

China cut 65 million tons of excessive steel production capacity last year and 290 million tons of coal production capacity, boosting efforts to cut the global production glut. Li vowed on Sunday to further cut the country's excessive steel and coal production capacity this year while maintaining GDP growth at around 6.5 percent.

As well as helping to achieve the nation's goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020, the target will help steer and steady expectations while the country continues to press ahead with reform. For despite facing a more complicated and graver external situation, China will continue to work toward a deeper and higher level of opening-up.

In this spirit, Li said the country will further open up its economy to foreign investors and join hands with other countries to promote free trade. In particular, it will resolutely oppose protectionism in its different forms and push ahead with the Belt and Road Initiative by accelerating the building of overland economic corridors and maritime cooperation hubs along the ancient Silk Road routes.

In reaffirming the Chinese economy remains resilient and on the right track, the Government Work Report was good news not only for China but also the world.