China still key in driving global growth

China's gross domestic product is likely to reach about 140 trillion yuan ($19.5 trillion) this year, reaffirming the country’s role as a major contributor to the world’s economic growth, the country's top economic regulator says.

- By OUYANG SHIJIA and ZHOU LANXU

The country is poised to place greater emphasis on unlocking the huge potential of its vast and resilient domestic market to underpin continued economic recovery, with stronger policy support to further boost consumer spending and confidence, officials and economists said.

Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the forecast increase in China's GDP during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), of more than 35 trillion yuan, is equivalent to the combined economic output of Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces, the country’s top three provincial economies, and exceeds the GDP of Germany, the world’s third-largest economy.

“China's contribution to world economic growth has stayed at about 30 per cent (in recent years), and China has managed to maintain an average growth rate of 5.5 per cent over the past four years despite numerous shocks,” Zheng said.

Yuan Da, the commission's secretary-general, highlighted the huge growth potential of China's ultra-large domestic market, saying “domestic demand has always been the main driver and stabiliser of China's economy”.