Photo: VCG

China's total foreign trade in the first eight months rose by 3.6 percent, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on Sunday. Calculated in yuan, in August, its exports increased by 2.6 percent while imports dropped by 2.6 percent. 

Many Western media regard the data as a sign of a weakening Chinese economy. Clearly, they don't understand China. Although economic data declined, China's economy is, in fact, resilient. The US-launched trade war has not prevented China from advancing.

As the global economy and trade face a downturn and China is in the frontline of a trade war, it's not surprising for China to have unsteady foreign trade. But this doesn't reflect the fundamentals of the Chinese economy.

China's economy is undergoing great structural adjustments, transiting from being investment-driven to innovation-driven and from being foreign trade-led to consumption-led. 

Although the trade war has led to short-term chaos in the Chinese and world market chains, China's foreign trade has increased in many ways, particularly in countries along the routes of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. 

Besides, the trade war has further stimulated China's structural adjustment. 

China is continuing infrastructure development and accelerating innovations. Policy support for domestic consumption and willingness to consume are growing stronger. All these provide an impetus to the Chinese economy, which has not been negatively affected by the trade war. 

Improving people's lives has become an increasingly apparent axis for all of China's economic activities. The country is quite busy on education, medical care, environmental protection, tourism and transport routes. The trade war can never disrupt Chinese people's increasing demand for a better living and the stronger internal impetus to develop. 

In contrast, the US economy is much more monotonous. Its most prominent driving force is technology innovation, which cannot always grow and has limited influence on its economy. When innovation is stagnant, the US economy comes to a halt and grows only by forging bubbles. Finance is the US economy's pillar, with the stock market at the core. Americans are sensitive to slight changes in data, because the bubbles could burst at any time. 

Regardless of how the trade war goes, the Chinese economy reflects how the country solves its problems, and the economic growth corresponds to the improving living standards in China. The Chinese economy is growing like a young man who shows huge potential for a clear goal. 

Some US elites comforted themselves by claiming that the Chinese economic data was an outcome of the trade war. This is a short-sighted and self-deceiving mentality. Structural adjustments to China's economy is like bone development to a young man. But we cannot see real adjustments in the US. The trade war reflects the country's anxiety and gaffes. 

Some American media have even linked a temporary rise in pork prices in China to its macro economy. Fine; just let Americans hallucinate.

Having the world's fastest-developing productivity, China also focuses on high-quality economy with a reliable timetable and road map supported by the Chinese people's demand for a better life rather than the US market.