A recent nine-day visit to Xinjiang in September 2023 by 22 foreign journalists from 17 overseas media organizations reported favorably on the vibrant local economy and China's efforts to preserve the local traditional and diverse cultures.

Instead of ending the flood of lies in the US media about Xinjiang, a US State Department agency, the Global Engagement Center, attacked this fact-finding visit, the visiting journalists and also China. This US agency released a 58-page report warning that China's information campaign on Xinjiang "could sway public opinion and undermine US interests." The US corporate media dutifully picked up the report and spread it. 

An AP news story "The US warns of a Chinese global disinformation campaign that could undermine peace and stability" used quotes from other government-funded organizations to reinforce its lies. This included Freedom House, which is 90 percent funded by US federal grants. 

The anti-war movement in the US is aware of the media's role. At a recent rally in front of CNN News followed by a march through busy Times Square to the New York Times media conglomerate, the resounding chant was: "Corporate media, we can't take lies anymore! Stop your drumbeat for war." This reflected the growing rage at the role of the largest media conglomerates in promoting militarism and racism. 

"Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth." This comment, attributed to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, is obvious in how news coverage in the US is organized today. Sometimes this leads even well-meaning people astray. They might say that "I've heard so often that there is slave labor and genocide of the Uygur Muslim people in Xinjiang, so it must be true."

I've held a series of talks and interviews with different audiences describing the diversity of cultures, modern cities and new farming techniques in Xinjiang, which I visited this May. My comments were greeted with a mixture of interest, curiosity and a frustrated suspicion from the US media, which have continually lied in the past and demonized a targeted country to justify each war.

In discussing my visit to Xinjiang, I often begin by asking an audience not to take only my short visit as the basis for their understanding of conditions in Xinjiang. It is more important to ask why no Muslim country has ever backed up the charges of genocide in Xinjiang, charges that the US government, its politicians, as well as talking heads in the media repeat endlessly. 

A visit by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation with 57 member states and later a delegation from the Arab League praised the Chinese government's policies and the harmonious relations and respect for the religion and culture of the people that they observed.

The June visit by the delegation from the Arab League was immediately denounced by the VOA. The VOA is a US government-owned news network that produces digital, radio and TV content in 48 languages and distributes it internationally. This response exposes how threatened the US is of a different view of China reaching people around the world. 

The media industry in the US is privately owned by a handful of billionaires. These media conglomerates combine advertising, broadcasting and networking, news, print and publication, digital, recording, and motion pictures, and most have international reach.

The most dangerous aspect of this web that seeps into every area of conscious life is that the media is intermeshed with the top US military corporations.  

All of the military corporations are also privately owned capitalist corporations. Their survival is based on enormous, government subsidized military contracts. Military corporations make the highest rate of profit with the highest returns to stockholders.   

This reality means that the corporate media functions as the public relations arm of the military corporations. The media's task is to sell war, and to justify war.   

The media in turn works with the well-funded think tanks who strategize, provide reports and talking points to the media and to the politicians - Republican and Democrat alike - who vote for ever increasing military budgets.  

This message is reinforced by continual claims that the media in other countries is controlled, combined with constant reassurances that a "free press" exists in the US. 

The US media focus on Xinjiang has a dual role. It is attempting to ingrain deep hostility toward China because the US corporate rulers fear China's growing economic strength and its attractive trade and development plans.  

The US media is also attempting to deflect attention away from the massively destructive US wars against Muslim people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, by claiming concern for Muslims in Xinjiang. China is showing the reality by inviting increasing numbers of visitors to see Xinjiang for themselves.

For those Western media outlets that seem to be concerned about "China setting back efforts to cut climate-changing carbon emissions," it is strongly advised that they look at the opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Games on Saturday night. Anyone who has basic knowledge of the various applications of low-carbon technologies at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province can see why there is every confidence that China will deliver on its promises of meeting carbon peak and neutrality targets.

Why? Because China's efforts to reduce carbon emissions are not simply aimed at reducing the use of fossil fuels but also include efforts to drive the development of green and low-carbon technologies through innovation. 

It's precisely because of the extreme application of low-carbon technologies that China has made the Hangzhou Asian Games a model in terms of pursuing carbon peak and neutrality goals.

For instance, the spectacular opening ceremony on Saturday night saw the use of zero-carbon methanol, which is regenerated from waste carbon and achieves zero emissions, as fuel for the main torch tower for the first time, according to Chinese media reports.

The use of low-carbon, green fuel is not only part of the drive to create the first carbon-neutral Asian Games but also shows China's determination and commitment to low-carbon and innovation-driven green development.

For some time, Western media outlets have been questioning China's decision to build more new coal-fired power plants, citing fears over whether China is setting back efforts to cut carbon emissions due to economic reasons. The main reason for their worries is the belief that decarbonization cannot coexist with economic development. Yet, accomplishing the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals doesn't necessarily mean that China needs to disregard its national conditions and give up on economic development.

China has never slackened in its pursuit of the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals. If anything, the Asian Games this time is a clear example of China's seriousness about green development. 

Green is the premium color of the Hangzhou Asian Games, which will become the first such games in history to realize 100 percent green electricity supply at all of the 65 venues and related facilities. Green electricity, which refers to zero or nearly zero carbon emissions in power generation, comes from the province's offshore wind and photovoltaic installations, as well as the central and western regions including Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and Gansu Province.

China has the world's largest number of renewable energy construction projects, so the share of coal-fired power generation in overall energy consumption has been falling. Even when it comes to the construction of new coal-fired power plants, which has raised questions, China has been improving the low-carbon technology to reduce emissions from new coal power plants in terms of both pollutants and carbon emissions.

More importantly, China has been prioritizing the development of low-carbon technologies in terms of the utilization of renewable energy or improvement in energy efficiency, among others. This is because the development and application of innovative technologies must be essential to achieving economic development while ensuring the accomplishment of carbon emissions reduction goals. Only through the development of new technologies can the achievement of carbon emission goals be reconciled with the main objective of promoting China's economic development, not being set aside in separate approaches.

Chinese experts have criticized Germany's decision to cease granting promotional loans to China and deny China's developing country status, calling it a move that succumbs to pressure from the US' cold-war mentality toward China. They warn that Germany risks undermining its own economic interests and damaging the investment confidence of European enterprises in China.

Germany will no longer grant promotional loans to China from 2026 and no longer treat China as a developing country, the Federal Development Ministry (BMZ) confirmed on Tuesday. 

The German ministry said it has informed the Chinese Ministry of Finance in mid-September of the federal government's decision to permanently stop granting promotional loans to China, Reuters reported.

"We are no longer treating China as a developing country," German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said. "China is and remains an important partner, without whom we cannot successfully overcome global crises," she added.

The move reflects some German politicians' alignment with the US in strengthening "decoupling" from China and creating economic and trade barriers aimed at the country, Chen Jia, an independent analyst on global strategy, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Under this Cold War mentality, Germany's push to implement a decoupling policy is not beneficial to EU-China cooperation, Chen noted.

Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said Germany's decision to cease granting promotional loans to China and deny China's developing country status was primarily influenced by US attempts to strip China of its developing country status.

For some time, the US has attempted to deprive China of its developing country status, which has been slammed by Chinese officials.

China's status as the world's largest developing country is rooted in facts and international law. It's not up to the US to decide whether China is a developing country, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press conference in June.
China's status as a developing country is supported by concrete facts. China's per capita GDP in 2022 was $12,741, or one-fifth of that of advanced economies and only one-sixth that of the US. 

The move by Germany will create an atmosphere of uncertainty, hinder the growth of bilateral trade and investment, and dampen the investment confidence of European business in China, experts said.

China and EU just concluded productive talks during the 10th High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue, with the two sides reaching multiple consensuses, China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Tuesday.

Both sides agreed to further promote the two-way opening of the financial industry and encourage eligible financial institutions to invest and expand their business in each other's markets. 

In the context of a global economic downturn, Germany's cancellation of promotional loans will dampen the investment confidence and expectations of European enterprises in the Chinese market, which is not conducive to the deepening economic and trade cooperation between China and Europe, Song said.

From 2013 to 2022, promotional loans with a total volume of 3.451 billion euros ($3.62 billion) were agreed upon with China. No promotional loans were granted in 2023, according to the Reuters report.

Cui Hongjian, a professor with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance with Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times that these loans primarily support projects related to infrastructure, climate change, environmental protection, and sustainable development. The advantage lies in their relatively fixed and extendable repayment period, as well as the relatively favorable interest rates compared to market rates. 

Cui said that in the future, there may be a shift toward more commercial cooperation rather than policy-driven projects. Additionally, this change may not have a significant impact on large-scale projects, as the Chinese side has sufficient financial capacity for investment, Cui said.

China's major industrial firms saw their profit surge in August, reversing the downward trend and increasing by 17.2 percent from a year earlier, the latest sign of sustained recovery in the world's second-largest economy as stimulus kicks in.

The robust industry growth, which marks the first increase since the second half of 2022, may pave the way for a full rebound as a slew of economic indicators are also pointing to a positive consumption trend during the upcoming Golden Week holidays, observers said.

With consumption and manufacturing activities all in full swing, the domestic economy is expected to ride on the fast track of stabilizing growth, though challenges remain, they noted.

In the first eight months of the year, the profits of major industrial firms with annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.79 million) reached 4.66 trillion yuan, down 11.7 percent year-on-year, with the pace of decline narrowing by 3.8 percentage points from the first seven months, according to data released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Of the 41 industrial categories monitored by the bureau, 30 posted better performance in terms of profit during the January-August period, with the losses in raw material manufacturing industry narrowing significantly due to rising commodity prices and recovered demand.

As the country's pro-growth policies continued to show their impact in August, industrial production saw a steady recovery, with the improvement in industrial profit gathering momentum, said NBS statistician Yu Weining.

Profit growth for equipment manufacturing was 3.6 percent for the period, growing from the 1.7 percent registered during the first seven months and leading the overall improvement, Yu said, noting that all business entities recorded better performance.

The reversal in August, reflecting that the overall operating conditions of the industrial sector are improving, was mainly driven by the rebound in market demand, improved prices of industrial products, the effects of macro-support policies, and the low base in 2022, Zhou Maohua, an economist at Everbright Bank, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The rebound was in line with the momentum of China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for August, which came in at 49.7, up 0.4 points from the previous month.

A reading below 50 indicates a contraction, while one above 50 indicates expansion.

"The recovery of the PMI represents stable market confidence and projection, and enterprises' profit recovery is the real consequence, which shows that the general situation is improving," Cong Yi, professor at the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

All multiple indicators are upbeat signs for the country's overall economic recovery, and also reflect that a series of supportive measures have taken effect, Cong said.

Notably, in the first eight months of 2023, profit of the electricity, heat generation and supply industry surged by 53.4 percent year-on-year, and profits for electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing increased by 33 percent year-on-year. In addition, profit of auto manufacturing increased by 2.4 percent year-on-year.

NBS data also showed that profit of enterprises in the metal, mineral processing, and energy extraction sectors suffered a decrease, while the profits of coal extraction and washing enterprises declined by 26.3 percent year-on-year, and the profit of chemical raw material and production manufacturing enterprises declined by 51.1 percent.

Structural adjustment of China's industrial enterprises growth is ongoing, and it's a vital period now for shifting the country's economic drive force from traditional industry to emerging sectors, Cong said.

Nevertheless, some domestic industrial manufacturing industries are still in the destocking stage, Zhou said, noting that problems such as insufficient market demand and high cost pressures still pose difficulties for company operations. 

"Domestic macro policy support cannot be relaxed," Zhou said.

Chinese authorities have stressed stronger and more precise measures to bolster the recovery over the past months. In a fresh move on Wednesday, China's central bank said at a quarterly meeting that it would step up policy adjustments and implement monetary policies to expand domestic demand and restore confidence.

During the meeting, the bank emphasized the need to intensify the implementation of existing monetary policies, enhance counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustments, and focus on boosting domestic demand and restoring confidence.

In light of the current domestic and international economic situation, the bank noted that "the current external environment has become more complex and challenging," with inflation remaining high and developed countries expected to maintain elevated interest rates. Additionally, it acknowledged that "the domestic economy continues to recover and improve with strengthened momentum, but still faces challenges such as insufficient demand."

Globally, downward pressure on the world economy has been intensifying. 

According to a Reuters report citing an S&P Global survey, business activity in the US, the world's largest economy, showed little change in September, with the vast services sector essentially idling at the slowest pace since February, and overall new order activity slipping to the lowest level in 2023.

As the 8-day Golden Week holidays approach, tourists are swarming to China's famous landmarks and scenic spots like Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, the Bund in Shanghai, and West Lake in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province. The vibrant atmosphere, buzzing with excitement and activities, serves as a vivid reflection of the unwavering confidence of the Chinese people in the country's economy and bright future.

An estimated around 800 million travel trips will be made during the eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays which will kick off on Friday. With record demand for travel and the sustained economic impact of the Asian Games, this year's Golden Week holidays are poised to become the most vibrant and prosperous in recent memory. 

As an important window to observe economic vitality, the upcoming Golden Week holidays will lead a significant consumption rebound in the fourth quarter, playing a crucial role in driving economic growth throughout the entire year, experts said.

Despite downward pressure due to multiple factors, China's consumer market is currently displaying signs of recovery and growth. The resilience, potential, and dynamism of consumption remain strong and unchanged, experts said, refuting Western media and politicians' bearish outlook on Chinese economy.

Hundreds of millions hitting the road

Latest data on holiday travel, accommodation, and tourism products all pointed to a stark rebound from the levels seen in 2019, indicating a remarkable resurgence in consumption activity.

Wednesday marks the first day of the Golden Week holidays travel rush. The railway network in the Yangtze River Delta region is expected to deliver more than 2.5 million passenger trips on Wednesday, 600,000 above the 2019 level, representing growth of over 30 percent, according to China Railway Shanghai Group Co.

According to the China Tourism Academy, over 100 million travel trips will be made per day during the Golden Week holidays, far surpassing the levels of last year and 2019. In terms of commercial aviation, more than 21 million travelers will take flights in the span of eight days and an average of 14,000 domestic flights will be operated per day, up 18 percent from the same period in 2019. China Railway Group forecast that 190 million railway trips will be made during the holidays, up from the 138 million trips seen in 2019.

Hotel bookings for popular destinations have also surged. Data from Qunar showed that domestic hotel bookings for the holidays have increased by 514 percent compared to 2019.

Outbound tourism is expected to see a 20-fold year-on-year increase, according to online traveling platform Trip.com. Travel agency U-tour predicted the number of outbound travelers would exceed this year's May Day holidays by five folds.

According to the National Immigration Administration, the average daily number of inbound and outbound passenger trips during the holidays are expected to reach 1.58 million, three times higher than the same period last year.

Additionally, traveling to Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province has become a spotlight and a unique spark for holidays spending as the eight-day holidays coincide with the main competition days of the Hangzhou Asian Games which last from September 23 to October 8.
Data from the online travel platform Fliggy shows that during the Asian Games, international flight bookings bound for Hangzhou have surged 20 times compared to the same period last year. Train ticket bookings have recorded a 4.7 times year-on-year growth, and hotel bookings near venues have increased by three times compared to last year. The other five cities in the province co-hosting the games also experienced a boom in tourist numbers.

With a substantial surge in bookings for flights, train tickets, accommodations, and tourism products, this holidays break is expected to unleash further consumption potential which vividly illustrates the positive trajectory of the Chinese economy, experts said.

In light of record booking and travel data, indicating a growing consumption enthusiasm, Tian Yun, a Beijing based economist attributed the growth to the lengthier holidays break and spill-out effect of events like the Asian Games, which have injected energy into the economy.
Accelerator of economic growth in Q4

Experts predict that thanks to effective macroeconomic stimulus policies and the boost from the Golden Week holidays, consumption will bounce back strongly in the fourth quarter, playing a crucial role in driving economic growth for the entire year. They have also dismissed smear and bearish outlook painted by some foreign media and Western politicians about the Chinese economy.

China's retail sales, a main gauge of consumption, beat expectations in August thanks to a bumper summer travel peak and consumption-boosting measures, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

Driven by the accelerated sales of travel and a wider range of spending options, retail sales of consumer goods in August recorded a year-on-year growth of 4.6 percent to 3.79 trillion yuan ($521.13 billion), 2.1 percentage points higher than the growth rate in the previous month, according to the NBS.

Experts said that the Golden Week holidays and the Asian Games will further accelerate the consumption recovery and economic growth in the fourth quarter, expecting more policy tools to kick in. In addition, the Belt and Road Summit in October and the China International Import Expo in November will both provide a strong boost to China's economy and development.

The extended holiday period provides a significant opportunity for a retail spending peak and is expected to have a significant impact on the GDP growth in the fourth quarter, acting as "an accelerator," Cong Yi, a professor from the Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The Asian Games in particular will be a major boost for consumption-related sectors from sports and culture to catering for the host city and nearby cities in East China's Zhejiang Province as well as the Yangtze River Delta region, Cong added.

According to media reports, citing official information from Zhejiang Province, the preparations for the Asian Games between 2016 and 2020 are estimated to have added about 414.1 billion yuan to Hangzhou's economy, accounting for 7.6 percent of the city's total economic output during that time. It also led to an increase of around 103.3 billion yuan in government revenue, which is about 8.2 percent of the total revenue collected. Additionally, the Games has created job opportunities for approximately 670,000 people, accounting for 2.4 percent of the total employment during that period.

The consumption vitality generated by the Hangzhou Asian Games extends far beyond Hangzhou, with the ripple effect gradually emerging in various parts of Zhejiang Province and even the entire Yangtze River Delta region.

During the Asian Games, hotel bookings in Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huzhou, Shaoxing, and Jinhua cities have all increased by more than fivefold compared to 2019, with Shaoxing experiencing the highest growth rate of 720 percent in hotel bookings.
Beyond the tourism, the sports craze sparked by the Asian Games has ignited the sports economy, sports manufacturing and foreign trade. According to customs data, the export of sports goods from Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province reached 5.08 billion yuan in the first eight months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 33 percent.

Tian said that the sustained success of the Asian Games and other major events this year will continue to further drive not only domestic consumption but also international consumption, presenting a window for China's opening-up.

Expert noted that China's consumption potential remains untapped and a massive household saving indicates a significant market for emerging consumer goods and upgraded consumption needs.

By the end of August, the balance of savings deposits for urban and rural residents in China exceeded 7 trillion yuan for the first time, standing at 7.06 trillion yuan.

More can be done to stimulate the consumer market, Tian said, pointing to upgraded consumption demand and new consumption drivers.

New-energy vehicles, domestically produced 5G smartphones, domestically produced large aircraft, and the cruise economy will all become new growth points for China's consumer economy, Tian said.

He is confident that with the government's efforts, the gradual recovery of individuals from the pandemic's impact, the retail sales growth could reach 6 percent in the fourth quarter.

"It is expected that macro policies will focus on creating more jobs and promoting economic growth in the fourth quarter. It will also address long-term issues like aged care to boost market confidence," Tian said.
Li Yong, president of Chongqing Frontier Regional Economic Research Institute, told the Global Times that stimulating consumer spending through the issuance of shopping vouchers is a good method, especially for the catering and tourism sectors, which will encourage people to visit malls and take trips.

Experts also defied attacks by some Western politicians and media outlets that paint the Chinese economy as being at the cusp of collapse.

Cong dismissed smear from foreign media, as the trend of consumption upgrading in China's massive market of 1.4 billion people remains unchanged. He also noted that the bearish view on the Chinese economy is a long-standing line of attack from sections of the Western media, yet it has never managed to drag down China's economy.

"China is well on track to achieve the GDP growth target of around 5 percent for the whole year, and the final quarter growth will solidify the target," Cong said.

Tian predicted China's economic growth to grow at around 5.2 percent for this year.

"Actions speak louder than words. As China remains focused on its economic work, progressing at its own pace and avoiding empty rhetoric, there is no need to pay attention to Western attempts to discredit it," Li said, predicting China's economic growth would finish in a range of 5 percent to 5.2 percent this year.

On a recent summer afternoon in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, there were very few people on the streets, and traffic was relatively light. Such a sight hardly showed any sign of a rapidly shifting global geo-economic landscape.

Yet, a closer look revealed a very interesting dynamic: While a vast majority of the cars on the streets are older sedans carrying the golden cross logo of US carmaker Chevrolet, newer, futuristic ones are often new-energy vehicles (NEVs) produced by Chinese carmaker BYD. The slogan - Build Your Dream - was a distinctive feature on the back of each BYD cars.  

Such a dynamic is expected to become even more significant not just on the streets of Tashkent, but also those of other cities around the world. Last month, BYD and Uzbekistan signed an investment agreement to build a factory for NEVs in the country. Globally, China has become the world's biggest auto exporter and 60 percent of the world's total NEVs are produced and sold in China. 

The rapid rise of China's NEV sector globally is a microcosm of the success of China's industrial upgrade and high-quality development. Recently, as some indicators fell short of sky-high expectations for China's economic recovery this year, some Western officials and media outlets continue to relentlessly hype up the short-term fluctuations in an attempt to smear the Chinese economy. However, such smear completely ignores the achievement of China's industrial upgrade and its pursuit of high-quality development - which has not only seen major progress but also shown vast potential for long-term, sustainable growth that will contribute greatly for the world economy, Chinese officials and economists said. 

Still, China's NEV industry did not rise to its global leading position without a lot of hard work and focus. Industrial transformation and upgrade often come with pain. At a ceremony marking the production of the 5 millionth NEV, Wang Chuanfu, founder of BYD, choked up a few times, as he recalled the hardships the company has faced over the years, including facing bankruptcy at one point. BYD is hardly the only Chinese company that has faced and ultimately overcome such hardships. 

SAIC Volkswagen, a Chinese-German joint venture, represents a typical case. The company had been the industry leader for years in the field of fossil fuel cars. But in 2018, as sales of traditional fossil fuel cars plunged, China's auto industry saw its first ever negative growth, and SAIC also saw major drops in sales and profits. The company started its transition toward NEVs.

"Market choice has pointed toward a clear path. Even if there will be pain, we must closely follow the NEV trend," an executive from SAIC was quoted as saying by the People's Daily.

With that, the company shut down a 40-year-old factory, and invested 17 billion yuan in building a new plant that can produce 300,000 NEVs annually. The company also stepped up spending in research and development (R&D), with industry leading investment despite financial challenges. The result: Starting in July, sales of the company's ID NEVs surpassed 10,000 units for two consecutive months, leading sales of other NEVs produced by joint ventures. And the company continues to invest heavily in NEVs in the second half of 2023. 

Such successful stories of transformation are shared by many other Chinese carmakers. Together, they represent the rise of China's auto industry, with leading production, sales as well as innovations. And the rise of China's industry also reflects China's overall industrial transformation and upgrade, which often encounters challenges but ultimately translates into high-quality development - the central goal of the Chinese economy. 

In a speech at a reception to celebrate the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on September 28, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that to achieve high-quality development, the country must fully and faithfully implement the new development philosophy in all aspects, and accelerate the development of a new development paradigm. Xi also pointed out that the economic recovery is picking up pace, contributing to the steady advancement of high-quality development, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Comprehensive view on GDP 

In the first half of 2023, China's GDP grew by 5.5 percent, prompting many speculations and even dire predictions about the Chinese economy.

Is such a growth rate high or low? To answer this question, a comprehensive look at the new addition and the quality of growth, instead of just speed, is necessary. 

"As the world's second-largest economy, a 1 percent growth today is vastly different from that of the past in terms of absolute increment," said Wang Xiaosong, a professor of economics at Renmin University of China in Beijing. In 2022, China's GDP stood at about $18 trillion, the increment from a 1 percent growth rate is equivalent to that of 2.1 percent growth rate 10 years ago - and that of 5.3 percent growth rate in India. 

Moreover, a 5.5 percent growth rate is faster the 3 percent growth rate in 2022 and the 4.5 percent growth rate in the first quarter of 2023 and is the fastest growth rate among major economies. The growth rate is also in line with China's official growth target of about 5 percent in 2023. While many had expected a restorative economic recovery in China, the fact is that over the past three years, the global economy has been deeply troubled by the COVID-19 pandemic and the still ongoing Ukraine crisis. Like the world economy, China's economy also goes through a recovery process and a 5.5 percent growth rate is hard-won.

"You can't expect an athlete to break the 100-meter sprint record, while his body is still recovering," said Wang Changlin, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the People's Daily.

In terms of quality, the 5.5 percent growth rate in the first half of 2023 was led by consumption and investment, instead of investment and exports in 2022. It was also driven by innovation and new growth models. In the first half of the year, the added value of information transmission, software and information technology services jumped by 12.9 percent, while online retail sales of physical goods grew by 10.8 percent. The real growth rate of per capita disposable income of residents across the country was 5.8 percent, significantly faster than that of 2022. China has not just achieved stable growth but also ensured the security of food, energy and industrial and supply chains. 

"One of the highlights of China's economy this year is that the security and sustainability of economic development have been significantly enhanced," Wang Xiaosong said, noting that China's economy is currently very resilient and will continue to maintain the healthy and stable growth.

While some headline figures for areas such as exports, investment, employment and corporate profits were less than impressive, there are also many highlights. In the first half of the year, China's exports to countries participating in the joint construction of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative saw a double-digit growth, combined exports of NEVs, lithium batteries and solar cells jumped by 61.6 percent. In the first eight months, China's auto exports soared 104.4 percent, and ship exports increased by 28 percent. 

"With the continued effect of a series of policy measures, we have the confidence, foundation and conditions to achieve the goal of promoting stability and improving the quality of imports and exports," said Lü Daliang, a spokesperson with the General Administration of Customs, during a press conference in July. 

In terms of investment, in the first half of the year, total fixed-asset investment increased by 3.8 percent year-on-year, with private investment dropping 0.2 percent. However, excluding real estate investment, private investment jumped by 9.4 percent during the same period. China has also taken a slew of measures to stabilize the real estate market. 

Vast potential

"Based on international experience, after an economy reaches a certain scale, industrial upgrading and transformation and development are generally accompanied by short-term slowdown. While accelerating structural adjustment, transformation and upgrading, China's economy has achieved effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth, which is extremely difficult," Yang Changyong, a senior researcher from the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research, told the People's Daily. 

Yang said that the Chinese economy can make new breakthroughs and reach new heights if the advantages of the vast domestic consumption are fully leveraged, greater efforts are made in adjusting growth models and structures and boosting growth engines, and a powerful and resilient domestic economy is established. 

China also has the institutional advantage of being a socialist market economy, sufficient macro policy tools and adjustment room, and abundant means and measures to prevent and tackle risks, which ensures long-term stability of the Chinese economy despite challenges, according to Wang Changlin.

The bright prospect of China's high-quality development is also reflected in the steadfast efforts by companies such as BYD and SAIC Volkswagen to transform and innovate. With their advanced technologies and high-quality products reaching every corner of the globe, the world will feel and benefit from China's high-quality development. 

Wu Qiuyu, Zhao Zhanhui and Liu Shiyao are People's Daily reporters; Wang Cong is a Global Times reporter.

Seventy-five days after having returned to the ground, the Shenzhou-14 crew members met the press on Friday and were in good spirits. They were also in good physical and mental shape, said health experts at the press conference, noting that they have now moved into the recovery observation stage and will be able to return to normal soon.

The recovery of normal body function for the taikonauts after they returned from space consists of three stages - quarantine, convalescence and observation - according to health experts speaking at the press conference on Friday.

The Shenzhou-14 crew has completed the first two stages, showing a stable emotional status and good mental condition, and their body weight has stabilized at pre-flight level. The muscle strength, endurance and cardiorespiratory reserves have been further restored, achieving the expected results.

They have now moved into the third stage of recovery observation. After an overall evaluation, the three taikonauts will be able to return to normal training and work.

After concluding their six-month stay at the China Space Station and completing the first direct handover in orbit in the country's history, Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, the three taikonauts of the Shenzhou-14 safely returned to Earth on December 4, 2022.

It marked the first return mission after the completion of the China Space Station's T-shape basic structure.

China successfully launched the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft into designated orbit on Wednesday, achieving a key victory of the first launch mission to the China Space Station since the Chinese crewed space outpost entered a normal operation and development phase at the end of 2022.

Carrying the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft, China's Long March-7 Y7 carrier rocket took off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in South China's Hainan Province on Wednesday at around 9:22 pm. After a flight lasting 10 minutes, the flagship spacecraft for the China Space Station new phase entered its preset orbit, which, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), marked the success of the launch mission.

The launcher's developer, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), under the state-owned space giant China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), told the Global Times that Long March-7 has executed five Tianzhou cargo spacecraft launches since its maiden flight in 2016, with a perfect success rate.

The CALT also disclosed that following the Wednesday mission, another two orbital launches for the China Space Station would be carried out in 2023.

Wang Ran, chief designer of the cargo spacecraft system with China Academy of Spacecraft Technology (CAST) under the CASC, revealed that the new series of the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, starting from Tianzhou-6 to Tianzhou-11, would be further upgraded compared to its predecessors, as its cargo capacity has been increased from the previous 6.9 tons to 7.4 tons, which makes the new Tianzhou spacecraft one of the strongest cargo spacecraft in the world. 

It was the first time that Tianzhou spacecraft possesses the cargo capacity exceeding 7 tons, which would reduce the frequency of cargo mission to the space station to three times in two years from four times in two years, boosting the comprehensive efficiency of the space station project. 

According to the CAST, the Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft is tasked with ferrying essential supplies for taikonauts that can sustain a three-strong crew's 280 days in space, around 260 different goods weighing some 5.8 tons as well as multiple payloads for scientific experiment and technology verification, to the China Space Station. 

Lü Congmin, deputy chief designer of the space application system and research fellow with the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times that Tianzhou-6 will upload 98 pieces of payload and experiment materials weighing some 714 kilograms to the China Space Station. 

They will be used to carry out 29 scientific and application experiments in four domains - space life science and biotechnology, microgravity fluid physics and combustion science, space material science, and space application of new technology - according to Lü. 

According to developers with the CAST, starting with the Tianzhou-6, the technology team has upgraded the spacecraft system, including making improvement to the cargo cabin of the spacecraft and boosting the airtight cabin's cargo transport capability, which would provide more goods to the taikonauts to sustain a longer stay in space. 

The CAST stressed that through the implementation of comprehensive guarantee measures, 100 percent localization of key components has been realized.

The Tianzhou-6 cargo spacecraft is also the most versatile of its kind in terms of supporting capability in orbit; it is tasked to not only deliver supplies to the China Space Station, complete the attitude control of the space station combination, but also carry out space scientific and technological experiment. It will also unload waste from the China Space Station before falling back with control, the CAST told the Global Times in a statement. 

The stowage of the airtight cabin of the Tianzhou-6, according to the CAST insiders, has increased from 18.1 cubic meters to 22.5 cubic meters, an increase of 20 percent. The cargo capacity of the airtight cabin increased by 22 percent to 6.7 tons after upgrade, and that for the whole craft has been increased from 6.9 tons to 7.4 tons.

The Tianzhou-6 spacecraft will also deliver some 70 kilograms of fresh fruit for the crew to enjoy, which is twice the weight of fruit carried by the Tianzhou-5, according to Wang. 

"We used to be unsure about how long will such fresh fruit can be preserved in space. However, after learning from the past year, we are now sure about that we have the capability to upload more fruit at a time," Wang noted. 

Tianzhou-6 also delivered 1.75 tons of propellant, of which 700 kilograms will be provided to the space station.