Forging Ahead in a Turbulent World

The past month has seen the world overshadowed by the Ukraine crisis. Sanctions leveled against Russia have led to drastic fluctuations on the international energy market, sending ripples across the globe, and disrupted part of international supply chains.Amid the turmoil, the annual sessions of China’s top legislature and political advisory body were convened as scheduled, and the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games concluded successfully,leaving behind a tangible legacy.

According to the government work report delivered by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the fifth session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) on March 5, China’s economy showed sound momentum of recovery and growth in 2021. Its gross domestic product (GDP) reached RMB 114 trillion, growing 8.1 percent, well above the preset target of 6 percent. A total of 12.69 million new urban jobs were created. The total volume of trade in goods grew by 21.4 percent, and growth of utilized foreign investment was sustained. Meanwhile, owing to the implementation of effective measures for preventing and controlling pollution, the discharge of major pollutants continued to fall and the average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) dropped by 9.1 percent in cities at and above the prefecture level. China’s first group of national parks was also officially established. Significant improvements were made in the quality of the environment.

More importantly, people’s living standards rose steadily last year. Per capita disposable income increased by 8.1 percent in real terms, according to the government work report. Inputs in basic elderly care, basic medical care, and social assistance were in

creased. New steps were also taken in the reform and development of education. Subsidies in the nutrition improvement program for compulsory-education students in rural areas were increased,benefiting over 37 million students. The cap for government-subsidized student loans was also raised by RMB 4,000 per person per year, benefiting over five million students.

As the country witnessed a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in March with the daily new infections in the mainland exceeding 1,000, some observers began to doubt China’s economic growth target for 2022 of around 5.5 percent and its zero-COVID policy.However, analysts indicated that China’s stringent approach to COVID-19 control has proved effective “not only in protecting public health,but also in an economic sense, as the gains from normalized production and consumption outweigh the costs of pandemic control efforts,” according to a Xinhua article.

Owing to the policies coordinating COVID-19 control and economic development, China’s economy registered a sound growth momentum in the first two months of this year, marking a good start for development in 2022, according to Fu Linghui, a spokesperson with the National Bureau of Statistics. China’s value-added industrial output of enterprises with their yearly main business income exceeding RMB 20 million and retail sales of consumer goods grew 7.5 and 6.7 percent respectively from January to February on a year-on-year basis, 3.2 and 5 percentage points higher respectively than last December.

However, the volatile geostrategic relations and international commodity price hikes are weighing on the international trade market, which may make Chinese enterprises at the mid and lower ends of the industrial chains, in particular the small businesses,bear the brunt. To meet this challenge, China has pledged a range of policies to support the real economy.

The executive meeting of the State Council held on March 14 indicated that tax refunds and reductions are among the key measures taken this year to maintain stable macroeconomic performance, and a detailed plan for value-added tax credit refunds will be unveiled soon. According to the meeting, Chinese financial institutions will also be guided to roll out measures to make financing more accessible and reduce financing costs for medium, small, and micro enterprises. The next day saw China’s central bank pump RMB 200 billion into the market via a medium-term lending facility.

The Ukraine crisis has wrenched the hearts of peace-loving people across the world. On March 8, at a virtual summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz,Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized, “We need to jointly support the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and encourage the two sides to keep the momentum of negotiations, overcome difficulties, keep the talks going, and bring about peaceful outcomes.”Xi called for joint efforts to reduce the negative impact of the crisis.“Relevant sanctions will affect global finance, energy, transportation and stability of supply chains, and dampen the global economy that is already ravaged by the pandemic. And this is in the interest of no one,” Xi said.

Meanwhile, the United States, the world’s only superpower,just couldn’t stop spewing lies. From the baseless allegation of“genocide” and “forced labor” in Xinjiang to the rumor “Russia has requested military and economic assistance from China, and that China agreed but would deny it publicly,” the country has continued its campaign of smearing China, and based on that tried to rally its allies to contain China. “Their practices will only cause the United States to be further discredited in the world,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a regular press conference on March 15. The United States should deeply reflect on the role it has played in the escalation of the Ukraine crisis and make tangible efforts to ease the situation in Ukraine, Zhao added.

While meeting the press on March 7, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi indicated that some major country, trying to hold on to its hegemony, has resurrected the Cold War mentality and stoked bloc confrontation. “China firmly believes that the right way forward lies in greater solidarity and cooperation under the banner of multilateralism and joint efforts to build a community with a shared future for mankind,” Wang said.