*China's economy grew 3 percent year on year to a record high of 121.0207 trillion yuan (about 18 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2022. Compared with major economies across the world, the growth rate is relatively fast.*The economy is bound to recover as the fundamentals of the Chinese economy -- its strong resilience, enormous potential, great vitality and long-term sustainability -- remain unchanged.*Shoring up confidence is crucial for economic recovery. In 2023, the worsening global economic situation needs China's steady growth as a stabilizer.BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's economy posted steady growth in 2022 despite pressures including epidemic resurgences and a complicated external environment, with its gross domestic product (GDP) reaching a new level.The economy grew 3 percent year on year to a record high of 121.0207 trillion yuan (about 18 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2022, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Tuesday.This marks a new and higher level in terms of economic aggregate, after the Chinese economy topped the thresholds of 100 trillion yuan and 110 trillion yuan in 2020 and 2021, respectively -- maintaining its position well as the world's second-largest economy, Kang Yi, head of the NBS, told a press conference.But this is "still a small step forward," Kang said. The country needs to more than double the current per capita GDP of about 12,700 U.S. dollars to reach its goal that its per capita GDP will be on par with that of mid-level developed countries in 2035.Compared with major economies across the world, however, the 3-percent growth rate is relatively fast, he said, attributing the economy's rebound from stronger-than-expected shocks to the timely support of pro-growth policies.OVERCOMING CHALLENGESWhen asked to comment on the overall performance of the Chinese economy in 2022, Dominik Peschel, head of the Economics Unit of the Asian Development Bank Resident Mission in China, noted several headwinds the country had to deal with, including COVID-19, a property market downturn and softening export growth.To stabilize economic growth, the Chinese government mobilized additional funds for infrastructure investment and gradually loosened monetary policy. Infrastructure investment supported economic growth, as did solid growth in manufacturing investment. As a result, industry grew faster than services, while household consumption was weak, he noted.In breakdown, China's industrial output went up 3.6 percent year on year in 2022, while fixed-asset investment rose 5.1 percent year on year.Retail sales contracted 0.2 percent year on year in 2022. A total of 12.06 million new urban jobs were created last year, exceeding the annual target of 11 million.The Chinese people became more affluent in 2022, with per capita disposable income reaching 36,883 yuan, up 5 percent year on year in nominal terms.China's consumer prices posted a mild growth of 2 percent in 2022, in sharp contrast to the global spike.So far, China has built the world's largest and most technologically advanced network infrastructure, and the industrial Internet has been widely integrated into 45 national economic categories.Zhang Yansheng, chief researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said that innovation has been a bright spot in China's economy in recent years, despite headwinds due to COVID-19. New energy and digital industries have helped stabilize overall economic development."The national economy continued to develop despite downward pressure, economic output reached a higher level, employment levels and prices were generally stable, people's lives had been continuously improved, new achievements were secured in high-quality development, while overall economic and social development was stable and healthy," said Kang.HOPES AHEADWhen asked about China's economic outlook in 2023, Kang said the economy is bound to recover as the fundamentals of the Chinese economy -- its strong resilience, enormous potential, great vitality and long-term sustainability -- remained unchanged.Citing a solid material foundation, vast market potential, strengthened new drivers of growth, the release of dividends of reform and opening-up, as well as rich experience in macro regulation, Kang said the Chinese economy is certain to see an overall improvement this year.Given the country's optimized epidemic response, Kang believed that consumption will revive this year. Final consumption contributed 32.8 percent to the GDP expansion in 2022.As for the property industry, Kang said it will have less drag on the economy in 2023 than in 2022.There is still room for China's property sector to grow, as the country's urbanization rate reached 65.22 percent in 2022 -- still much lower than the 80 percent found in developed countries, he said, while also pledging measures to support the demand of urban residents for home ownership and improved housing conditions.However, Kang also warned of possible risks in 2023, as the foundation of domestic economic recovery is not yet solid, while the domestic triple pressures of demand contraction, supply shock and weakening expectations, are still concerns.China will make economic stability its top priority and pursue progress, while ensuring stability this year, he said."Shoring up confidence is crucial for economic recovery. In 2023, the worsening global economic situation needs China's steady growth as a stabilizer," Zhang Yansheng noted.(Video reporters: Sun Qing, You Zhixin, Jiang Tingting, Wei Yukun, Cheng Yunjie; Video editors: Zhou Yang, Zhang Yuhong, Wang Haiyan, Liu Ruoshi) 編輯：劉思?
China and Arab states are all developing countries. Combined, they account for one-sixth of the world's land mass, one-fourth of the world's population, and one-eighth of the world economy. Therefore, they face the shared mission and responsibility of advancing global cooperation and development.Arab states are standing at a historical crossroads. Internationally, long-time interference by Western countries in their regional affairs has deprived them of many development opportunities. Domestically, fragile economic structures and social turbulences have plunged the states into economic distress. The average GDP growth of economies in the Middle East was around 4.1 percent in 2021, below the global average for that year. Countries in the region face mounting pressure to recover their economies and ensure people's livelihoods.For China, it is confronted with serious external challenges and risks in its new journey of building a great modern socialist country in all respects. China's economy faces great headwinds as the United States adopts a policy of strategic competition toward China, the world economy is fluctuating, and the COVID-19 continues wreaking havoc around the world.During his visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in September and October 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward initiatives that later developed into the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). When addressing the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021, he proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI). BRI and GDI are a continuity of his conception of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and offer possible solutions to the difficulties facing humanity.Arab states have actively supported and participated in these initiatives proposed by China. By early 2022, 20 of them had signed agreements on cooperation with China under the BRI, aligning the initiative with their national development plans, such as vision 2030 plans of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, Jordan 2025, Algeria's Vision 2035, Morocco's Mohammed VI Tangier Tech City Project, and Iraq's reconstruction list of 157 projects. Marked progress has since been made in Sino-Arab cooperation in the fields of financial connectivity, nuclear energy, new energy, and aerospace, and in the development of a Health Silk Road.In support of the GDI, multiple Arab states have joined the Group of Friends of the GDI. On May 10, 2022, the China-Arab Friendship Organization Dialogue, co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Federation of Arab-China Friendship Associations, adopted a declaration, calling for parties concerned to act on the GDI, safeguard world peace with practical actions, and uphold the common interests of the Chinese and Arab peoples.China and Arab states have maintained a long tradition of supporting each other on development issues. Back in December 1963, the then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai proposed the five principles underpinning China's relations with African and Arab countries during a visit to the then United Arab Republic, a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971.In the new era, the two sides should follow the guidance of the GDI to enhance cooperation, advance common development, and build a Sino-Arab community of a shared future.Three areas should be prioritized.The first is economic cooperation. China and Arab partners should implement the GDI in the Arab region and advance high-quality cooperation under the BRI.For cooperation on industrial capacity, China should increase greenfield investment to help promote industrialization in the Middle East and increase local employment. For example, China can combine its technological strength in the photovoltaic industry with that of Arab states in cost, and increase production in the region.More efforts should be made to advance negotiations for free trade agreements with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and individual Arab states. The agreements, after being signed, will enhance trade facilitation between China and Arab states, particularly in non-energy sectors. Once established, the China-GCC Free Trade Zone will make RMB-denominated oil pricing a reality and advance the process of internationalization of the Chinese currency. With oil exports settled in RMB and foreign direct investment in China by overseas capitals in RMB, China and the GCC will be able to conduct cooperation across the petroleum industrial chain.The second is sci-tech cooperation. China and Arab states should seize the opportunities brought by the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation to narrow the technology gap. According to a report published by the U.S.-based Institute for Scientific Information, between 1980 and 2019, the Middle East's share in Web of Science indexed articles rose from two percent to eight percent, with half coming from researchers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, China's share soared from shy of one percent to 25 percent.With such remarkable progress in science and technology on both sides, China and Arab states should step up technology transfer and innovation cooperation under the Belt and Road Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation Action Plan and the Sino-Arab science and technology partnership program. These efforts can span the fields of information technology, modern agriculture, smart manufacturing, environmental protection, and especially digital economy.The third is about exchanges of experience in state governance. China and Arab states should intensify exchanges of expertise and experience in national development. A key reason why developing countries have been lagging behind in development is their lack of independence in terms of institutions, education, and science and technology. Without a development path fit for local conditions, many countries have long been entangled in the vicious cycle of political unrest, social upheaval, and economic debacle.In general, developing countries are weak in sci-tech innovation, and have to rely on foreign brains for progress. Exchanges among these countries are, therefore, of special importance for advancing South-South cooperation and accomplishing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.When addressing the High-level Dialogue on Global Development on June 24, 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China would set up a platform for experience and knowledge sharing on international development, a global development promotion center, and a global knowledge network for development, for the purpose of exchanging experience in state governance.China and Arab states have both garnered extensive development experience from their respective time-honored history. China is the world's largest developing country. With its own development, China offers peer developing countries with an alternative path to modernization, and has attracted great attention from other members of the developing world, including those in Arab regions. China is ready to share its governance experience with all other developing countries. It also values the experience of Arab states. For example, China can learn from Dubai's experience in running its free trade zone.In summary, to thrive in a world that is undergoing changes not seen in a century, China and Arab states must enhance solidarity and collaboration, set a good example for South-South cooperation, and make more contributions to human progress and prosperity.Wang Jian is director of the Institute of International Relations, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. 編輯：劉思講山
