Editor's Note: In the height of summer, the eyes of the world are focused on Beijing, as the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee is being convened to draw up the next blueprint for China's economic development, among other key topics.

#GTGraphic: China's economic data for H1 2024: -GDP: 61.68 trillion yuan, up 5% y-o-y -Value-added industrial out put: up 6% y-o-y -Total retail sales of consumer goods: 23.6 trillion yuan, up 3.7% y-o-y

Amid the ongoing UEFA European Championships and ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, production and sales of sport-related products continue to grow at factories and shops in Yiwu, a county-level city in East China's Zhejiang Province. Yiwu is one of China's small towns that have become key nodes in the country's manufacturing chain. Most of these towns started with low-end manufacturing and gradually built up modern industrial clusters. The development of these small towns, an epitome of China's industrial development, has empowered China to remain the world's largest manufacturing hub for 14 consecutive years. Now, the towns continue to be driving forces for China's manufacturing transformation - from "Made in China" to "intelligent manufacturing."

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit will be held in Kazakhstan in July. The SCO has evolved from the original "Shanghai Five" to nine member states, three observer states, and 14 dialogue partners, and SCO member states now account for nearly half of the world's population and about one-quarter of the global GDP. The SCO has become an indispensable engine contributing to the regional as well as global development, while the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has turbocharged the organization's development. Moving forward, China stands ready to work with SCO partners to advocate a multipolar world with equality and order and inclusive economic globalization, promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and create a better future together.

The European Commission (EC) announced on June 12 that it will impose additional provisional tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs) from China starting July 4. The strong opposition by all groups showed once again that the EC's decision is not based on the needs of its automotive industry and has not much to claim in terms of protecting the EU industry. The intended tariffs will also potentially apply to global brand vehicles manufactured in China, as the tariffs target cars imported from China. A large part of China's EVs exported to Europe were originally produced in China by European and US car companies before being reexported to Europe. Protectionist measures will fuel inflation and delay the process of green transformation, during which China's new-energy capacity is urgently needed. The EU's behavior of following in the US' footsteps to impose tariffs on Chinese EVs will be a "boomerang" that only harms the EU's auto industries and its customers.

Editor's Note: Holiday spending is an important window to measure the vitality of China's economy. From the Qingming Festival, May Day holidays to the recent Dragon Boat Festival, a range of positive data have boosted confidence in the country's economic prospects this year, as consumer spending continues to recover.

The ninth Trilateral Summit Meeting among China, Japan and the South Korea concluded on Monday in Seoul, where senior officials from the three East Asian countries exchanged views on trilateral cooperation. According to the Joint Declaration of the 9th China-Japan-South Korea Trilateral Summit, the three countries agreed to institutionalize the trilateral cooperation, commence trilateral cooperation projects for peoples of the three countries, and defend regional and international peace and prosperity. 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of China-Japan-South Korea trilateral cooperation mechanism. Analysts noted that the resumption of the trilateral summit has sent a positive signal over their willingness to work together, boosting economic and trade, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges among the three countries.

Editor's Note: With the recent recovery of the international tourism market and the resumption of more international routes, the visa-free policy between China and other countries has spurred enthusiasm of foreign tourists to travel to China.

China has become an important force in stabilizing the global clean energy industrial and supply chains. In recent years, China's new energy industry has developed vigorously, and products such as new-energy vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic (PV) products have formed a certain international competitive advantage. In the latest move, the Biden administration on Tuesday announced new tariff rates on imported Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), up from current 25 percent to 100 percent. The US' intention is to curb and suppress China's new energy sector, which represents low-carbon transformation and future development.

China's production and sales of new-energy vehicles (NEVs), having been ranked No.1 in the world for nine consecutive years, have accelerated the transformation of the global automobile industry. The development of China's NEV industry has benefited from its sound industrial chain and supply chain system, large market scale, huge investment in innovation and openness to global companies. The world will need 45 million NEVs by 2030, over three times that of the demand of 2023, to realize carbon neutrality. The US knows fully well that the "overcapacity" fallacy is against common sense of economics and industry facts, yet it still labels China with it. Such a claim is a crafted narrative designed to manipulate perception and politicize trade. The real purpose is to deprive China of its legitimate right to development. There isn't a "China overcapacity," but there is a US overcapacity of anxiety stemming from lack of confidence and smears against China.

#GTGraphic: Tourism and spending during #China's May Day Holidays: -Domestic tourist trips: 295 mln, up 7.6% y-o-y and 28.2% from 2019 -Cross-regional trips: 1.36 bln, up 24.1% from 2019 -Inbound and outbound trips: 8.466 mln, an increase of 35.1% y-o-y

Editor's Note: As China's actual use of foreign investment fell year-on-year in 2023, short sellers took the opportunity to speculate on the “massive withdrawal of foreign capital from China,” alleging that the country is “uninvestable,” ignoring China's previous year's record high base and the reality of a global downturn in cross-border investment. Is foreign capital really flowing out of China? Obviously not. Chinese market “uninvestable” narrative and other smears targeting the Chinese economy ignore the strong resilience of the country's economic fundamentals, and the selective blindness of the Western media is just another attempt to discredit China's development achievements and momentum.

The West is downplaying China's economic growth by narrowly focusing on short-term data fluctuations. Despite China's consumption gradually recovering and once again becoming a major driver of its economic development, claims including that “China's economic recovery is losing momentum" and “China's economy has entered a vicious cycle of price decline and consumption reduction" are pushed as a deliberate form of distortion. With a population of more than 1.4 billion and the world's largest middle-income group, China maintains its status as the world's second-largest consumer goods market, the top manufacturing country and the leading nation in goods trade. Such a robust market foundation has proven the “China's vanishing consumption momentum” is a clear misinterpretation and borders on wild conjecture.

Some Western forces have been hyping the “China peak” theory using different rhetorical approaches despite the fact that their previous bearish views about China's economy are always proved wrong. As facts always speak louder than words, the Global Times is publishing a series of graphics to debunk the flawed Western narrative. This is the first one of the series targeting the claim that a slowdown in economic growth suggests that a "peak" has been passed. The West's claims that the miracle of high-speed growth of the Chinese economy brought about by special domestic and international opportunities is unsustainable, and that China will slide into a period of stagnation. Such hype just narrowly focuses on temporary declining metrics while neglecting the underlying strong momentum and vast opportunities presented in the world's second-largest economy, as skeptics will only miss out on sharing the dividends of China's economic advancement.

From the China Development Forum (CDF) to the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), China has hosted two major events within a week, capturing global attention. From the influx of foreign companies to the BFA, the world is shifting its focus toward Asia, and particularly China. The Chinese economy is consolidating its institutional, market, industrial, human resources, and innovation advantages. Its fundamentally positive outlook remains unchanged. China is committed to creating a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment and is sharing development opportunities with other countries.

Editor's Note: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, at the invitation of New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, paid an official visit to New Zealand and Australia from March 17 to 21.

New quality productive forces became a focal point during the just-concluded two sessions, as the term has been included in the Government Work Report for the first time in 2024. The concept of new quality productive forces is poised to inject more vitality to China's economic progress, while contributing to the global development with the country's industrial prowess.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered the Government Work Report on Tuesday, reviewing China's achievements in 2023 and setting targets for 2024. In 2023, China faced an array of interwoven difficulties and challenges. But the main goals and tasks for economic and social development in 2023 were accomplished, with steady progress in pursuing high-quality development. While recognizing the achievements, China is keenly aware of problems and challenges that confront in 2024, of which the development environment will continue to feature both opportunities and challenges, with favorable conditions outweighing unfavorable ones. China will adhere to the principles of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, promoting stability through progress, and establishing the new before abolishing the old. There is no doubt that in pursuing development, China will continue to surge ahead, cleave mighty waves, and advance toward a great future.

#GTGraphic: What is new quality productive forces? By underscoring this concept, China aims to foster advanced productivity through revolutionary technology breakthroughs, innovative allocation of production factors and deepened industrial upgrading.

Editor's Note: At the beginning of 2024, a number of multinational companies have released their financial reports, announcing their performance in the Chinese market and affirming the importance of the Chinese market in their global business map. While some Western organizations and media are using all possible tactics to discredit China's economy, the global business community is converging on China, busy creating opportunities for cooperation and capturing market opportunities.

Holiday travel and spending during the Spring Festival break (February 10-17) hit record highs, surpassing pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019, showing that recovery in China's domestic consumption is picking up pace. The improved sentiment among Chinese consumers demonstrates the vitality and huge potential of China's consumer market, the single largest driver of economic growth, which will brighten the economic outlook in 2024 and beyond. The tourism and consumption boom also points to the new direction of ongoing economic structural transformation and upgrade.

As the Spring Festival holidays are right around the corner, bustling Chinese markets are filled with consumers stocking up on holiday goodies ahead of the Year of Dragon. Amid China's continuous high-quality opening-up and consumption revival, Chinese consumers now can easily enjoy a wide range of global delicacies integrating with traditional Chinese food for gatherings, further perking up the holiday spirit.

The 40-day 2024 Spring Festival travel rush begins on January 26. China is expected to witness a record-high 9 billion passenger trips during the Chinese New Year's festive period. Check out the graphics for more insights!

The Chunyun or Spring Festival travel rush in 2024, the world's largest annual human migration, will run from Friday to March 5 for 40 days, with nine billion passenger trips expected to be made, marking a new historical high. China's consumption in 2023 played a vital role in bolstering the country's economic development, as final consumption contributed 82.5 percent of the total GDP growth. The strong momentum is expected to last in 2024, with the foreseeable booming Chinese New Year holidays poised for a steady recovery.

China released its annual economic results on Wednesday, reporting GDP growth of 5.2 percent, which fulfils its national target. The country's economic performance in 2023 can be summarized as a hard-won positive recovery. Chinese economy is making steady progress and will continue to provide strong impetus for the world economy. China remains an important engine for global economic growth. Over the years, its contribution to world economic growth has stayed at around 30 percent. As the second largest economy in the world, China has established solid fundamentals after years of development, which has enabled its economy to handle ups and downs. Experts believe this overall trend of long-term growth will not change.

Editor's Note: The first days of 2024 saw a surprise tourism peak, as many attractions in northern China were packed with crowds of visitors. Harbin, the capital city of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has become the latest social media sensation, with its exquisite ice sculptures and fairy-tale snowy world. Momentum arising in the tourism sector in early 2024 will likely boost the country's travel market, and shore up the broad consumption rebounding this year.

Ice-snow-related economy has developed into an engine driving #China's tourism and sports industry. -During the 2024 New Year's Day holidays, the popularity of domestic ice and snow tourism increased by 216% compared to the previous period -Chongli, one of the venues of the #Beijing2022 #OlympicWinterGames, received 1.6487 million visitors from Nov 8 to Dec 31, 2023 -The number of visitors travelling to Harbin is 5 times that of Sanya during 2024 New Year's Day holidays -The total output value of China's ice-snow sector is forecast to hit 1 trillion yuan by 2025

Editor's Note: The new year of 2024 is rapidly approaching, which marks the beginning of the second decade of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). During the past 10 years, the BRI has turned from a visionary idea into actual infrastructure build-up, evolving to be the largest international cooperation platform for inclusive growth. Standing at the important junction of the BRI's 10th anniversary and looking forward, the BRI is set to scale new heights and gain new momentum of development in all participating countries.

China's manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in more than one decade and the country remained the world's largest manufacturer due to its well-developed business ecosystem - a strong network of suppliers, manufacturers, and logistics companies. Now, the country is making great efforts to achieve industrial upgrade - through technological innovation - to further empower its economic development and better secure global supply chains. China's efficient supply chains are deeply rooted in its manufacturing ecosystem and remain unmatched in their resilience. This strength has made China a key hub across global supply chains, connecting developing countries with raw material suppliers and developed countries with technological and branding resources.

Editor's Note: As 2023 draws to its end, China's economy is again in the spotlight. Despite global geopolitical turbulences, the world's second largest economy has been largely resilient, overcoming some severe challenges and attaining impressive growth rates in GDP this year. The Chinese economy has continued to gain momentum, contributing up to one-third of the world's economic growth in 2023, and will remain one of the most dynamic engines of the global growth in 2024.

The 24th China-EU Summit will be held in Beijing on Thursday. Leaders from the two sides will hold an in-depth exchange of views on strategic issues critical to the future direction of China-EU relations and global issues of mutual interest to draw a blueprint for, identify the focus of and inject impetus to China-EU relations. At present, the complex international situation, unseen in one century, is evolving at an accelerated pace marked by increased volatility, sluggish world economy and emerging global challenges. The China-EU relationship is also facing new opportunities and challenges. China and the EU are partners, not rivals, and areas of common interests far exceed differences. China hopes that the two sides can work together to address global challenges, inject new impetus to the global economy, increase stability in international situation and provide strategic guidance for the sustained and sound development of China-EU relations.

Editor's Note: China is currently holding the world's first supply chain-themed exposition - China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) - from Tuesday to Saturday in Beijing. Hosting the expo displays the country's determination to exemplify the importance of maintaining a highly efficient and resilient global industrial chain and supply chain, which also illustrates China's resolve to stick to opening-up, while fight back against the so-called decoupling attempt by some countries.

Chinese President visited San Francisco last week at the invitation of US President for the China-US Summit and the annual APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. The visit is of great significance, producing fruitful outcomes. It was an important opportunity for the two nations to build up trust, resolve misgivings, manage differences and expand cooperation in many domains. The summit will also bring enhanced certainty and stability to the world going through turmoil and volatility. The San Francisco meeting can be a new starting point for stabilizing China-US relations, as both countries need to make renewed efforts to translate the new vision into reality so that they realize sound, steady and sustained growth in bilateral relations.

Against the backdrop of sluggish economic recovery and geopolitical volatility in the world, the broad Asia-Pacific region has always been a driving force for economic growth. Meetings of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which started this week in San Francisco, have drawn global attention. During the past many years, China has been actively integrating itself into Asia-Pacific economic cooperation and contributing to regional stability. The international community hopes that China-US relations can get back on a track of sound and steady development in order to inject stability and certainty into global growth.

Editor's Note: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will visit China from November 4 to 7, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. This is Albanese's first visit to China since coming to power and the first visit by an Australian prime minister since 2016. Albanese said his visit to China is an important step in ensuring a stable and productive bilateral relationship. China stands ready to work with Australia to step up high-level exchanges, enhance cooperation and exchanges across the fields, promote continued improvement and growth of bilateral relations, and bring more benefits to the peoples of the two countries, said Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry.

The recently concluded third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), which gathered representatives from 151 countries and 41 international organizations, has achieved fruitful results and marks another important milestone in the building of the Belt and Road. As 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the cooperation has realized historic achievements in the past decade, which opened up a road of cooperation, opportunity and prosperity leading to common development.

Editor's Note: From the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, the first electrified railway in East Africa, to the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, from the China-Laos Railway to the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway in Southeast Asia, together with the China-Europe Railway Express, these all show that connectivity is a priority in building the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over the past decade, under the BRI connectivity framework, infrastructure projects have helped participating countries realize their dream for shared prosperity.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed by China in 2013 to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa on and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes. Since its launch 10 years ago, thanks to the combined efforts of all parties, cooperation under the BRI framework has expanded beyond the borders of China to become an international effort. It has evolved from ideas into actions, from a vision into reality, and from a general framework into concrete projects. China released a white paper, named "The Belt and Road Initiative: A Key Pillar of the Global Community of Shared Future," highlighting the role that the iconic "century project" has played during the last decade and its achievements in living up to its goal of providing a platform for building a global community with a shared future.

After US President Joe Biden recently called China's economic problems a "ticking time bomb," Western media immediately set off a wave of negative public sentiment over China's economy. However, is China's economy as troubled as Western media and politicians have portrayed it to be? What will happen to the rest of the world if China stagnates? In fact, China's economic miracle has been driving global growth for decades. China has made great contributions to reshape the world market. In the West's swing toward anti-globalization, China actively participates in and promotes the implementation of multilateral cooperation. China remains the major engine of global growth, and the world is also full of confidence in China's growth.

#GTGraphic: China's digital trade has developed vigorously in recent years, with its total imports and exports of digital services growing 3.2% y-o-y in 2022 to reach $371.08 billion, providing a pool of business opportunities and injected strong impetus into open trade.

The international community is frustrated and outraged, voicing growing concerns over Japan's utterly irresponsible dumping of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, which started on August 24. Japan is playing with fire, imperiling the world's oceans and endangering an indispensable living environment of future generations of humanity. All residents on this globe are duty-bound to continue to ratchet up opposition to Japan till Tokyo stops wastewater discharge.

#GTGraphic: China's trade with other #BRICS countries saw rapid expansion in the first 7 months of 2023: -Total trade: $330.62 billion, up 19.1% -Import and export of China's private enterprises: up 29.4% -Exports of NEVs: up 601.3% -Imports of energy products: up 17.3%

The US government has comprehensively upgraded its strategy of scientific and technological containment against China. It labeled China as a "strategic competitor" in 2017. The US' determination to fully "decouple" from China in key technological areas is enduring. The reality is the continuation of history. The US' scientific and technological containment of China has occurred across a seven-decade period. The history of China's scientific and technological development has evolved in response to the historical picture of the "choke" of the US and the West. At present, China's scientific and technological forces are more pragmatic in cooperating with friendly countries and regions, overcoming those who view China as a "threat," so as to ensure global cooperation. The US is seeking to disrupt the global order across trade, different industries and various supply chains. The negative impact has already hit US companies and its allies.

China's private investment in H1 2023 - Overall (except real estate): ↑9.4% - Manufacturing: ↑8.4% - Infrastructure: ↑15.6% Foreign trade of private enterprises: ↑8.9% Private companies account for: -65% of patents -75%+ of technological innovation -80%+ new product R&D

China's GDP expanded 5.5 percent in the first half of the year, faster than the 3 percent growth rate in 2022 and the average annual growth rate of 4.5 percent during the past three years of the pandemic. Even taking into account the situation in the second quarter which some media hyped as “lower-than-expected,” China's overall economic growth in the first half of the year is still the fastest among major economies, providing key support for global economic recovery.

The third China and Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) was held from June 29 to July 2 in Central China's Hunan Province. Held biennially, the CAETE brought together exhibitors from many countries and industries in its last two sessions. The event has been proved to be one of the most important economic and trade exchanges between China and African countries. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over the last decade, China and Africa have continuously deepened cooperation under the BRI and other mechanisms and platforms, with fruitful results attained in a wide range of sectors, including in trade and economic growth, infrastructure buildup, and raising people's livelihoods. The building of a China-Africa community of shared future in the new era has made significant progress.

Many foreign executives have visited China and more are coming, and the number of foreign investment projects is still increasing, at a time when the global economic recovery turns out to be weak and more countries have given top priority to development. In this context, China's large market and the great opportunities it surely offers have attracted widespread attention and strong expectations from the international community. Foreign investors on the hunt for growth potential do not need to look too far for the "next China" because the "next China" is still China, a senior McKinsey & Company executive claimed in February. The country's market is considered a safe haven for global capital and finance, as well as the best choice for investment. The Chinese economy is believed to be a powerful propeller and anchor for global economic recovery.

China's robust consumption during 2023 Dragon Boat Festival holidays: -Tourism trips: 106m, up 32.3% y-o-y -Tourism income: 37.31b yuan ($5.2b), up 44.5% y-o-y -Passenger trips: 140m, up 89.1% y-o-y -Box office: 848m, second highest

After engaging in a protracted political showdown on raising the US national debt limit – capped at $31.4 trillion at the current stage – the White House and the Republican-controlled Congress reached an initial deal on Saturday which is heading toward a vote on Wednesday in the House of Representatives, meaning the country will raise its debt ceiling for the 79th time since 1960. However, the US “fiscal bomb” has not been defused completely as the two political parties still jostle on the deal details of their compromises. Congressional lawmakers are supposed to approve the deal before June 5 to avoid a disastrous default.

Fruitful achievements are expected of China-Central Asia partnership after milestone summit Infographic:GT

The constant improvement of China's modern industrial system, backed up by the real economy, will determine whether China will progress and prevail in the increasingly fierce global competition, according to a policy statement after the meeting of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs which was convened on Friday. China now has the most complete industrial system in the world, and is playing an important role in the global industrial chain and supply chain. No matter what the future challenges and headwinds are, China's modernization must be based on a strong real economy, bolstered by persistent efforts in scientific research, technological innovation, and improvement of the dual-circulation system.

China's foreign trade in the first four months of 2023: Total volume: ￥13.32 tln, up 5.8% y-o-y Major trading partners: #ASEAN: ￥2.09 tln #EU: ￥1.8 tln #US: ￥1.5 tln Trade with Belt and Road countries: ￥4.61 tln

China's tourism rebounds during May Day holidays: -Domestic tourism trips: 274 mln -Tourism revenue: 148.1 bln yuan ($21.42 bln) -Box office: exceeded 1.5 bln yuan ($217 mln) as of 7 pm on Wed

China's economy is off to a solid start after the country declared a decisive victory against the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first quarter of 2023, GDP growth reached 4.5 percent, beating market expectations. Impressive recovery has also been seen in main economic drivers such as consumption, exports, and investment.

China's key economic index in Q1: -GDP: 28.50 trillion yuan, ↑4.5% yoy -Value-added industrial output: ↑3.0% yoy -Total retail sales of consumer goods: ↑5.8% yoy -Fixed-asset investment: ↑5.1% yoy -Surveyed urban unemployment rate: 5.5%

#GTGraphic: #China's foreign trade in Q1 2023: Total volume: ￥9.89 tln, up 4.8% y-o-y Major trading partners: #ASEAN: ￥1.56 tln #EU: ￥1.34 tln #US: ￥1.11 tln Trade with Belt and Road countries: ￥3.43 tln Trade with #RCEP members: ￥3.08 tln

A flurry of indicators including “excavator index” have suggested China's economic vitality in Q1 2023. - Avg. operating rate of excavators in Mar: 69.35% -No. of winning bids in Jan-Feb: ↑45.5% y-o-y -Crawler crane sales in Feb: ↑60.5% y-o-y See the #GTGraphic for more

In March 2018, then US President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum that imposed additional tariffs on Chinese products. Thus Washington launched into the biggest trade war against China in world trade history in recent decades. From the Trump to the Biden administration, from trade to technology and industry, US economic and trade policies to contain the development of China have become increasingly clear and confrontational over the last five years. It is worth noting that the trade war launched by the US against China has, so far, failed to achieve its intended goals. The main burden of US tariffs has fallen on domestic producers and consumers. Moreover, to avoid retaliatory tariffs from China and maintain access to Chinese customers, some automakers have moved production operations outside the US, further eroding US GDP. Unilateral tariffs have inflicted heavy losses on US businesses, families, and the US economy, while damaging the global economy and trade.

Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Russia from March 20 to 22 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, marking Xi's first foreign trip since being reelected as Chinese president on March 10. The trip further strengthened China-Russia bilateral cooperation that, officials said, has no limit nor forbidden zone. This infographic illustrates the thriving economic and trade cooperation between the two countries and the unlimited potential they hold.

On March 19, 2023, the Belgrade-Budapest Railway (Belgrade-Novi Sad section), a landmark project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), will soon welcome its first anniversary. With its outstanding product and service quality, the Belgrade-Novi Sad railway has offered a speedy, convenient, and comfort travel experience to the Serbian people. The railway is significant not only for the development of Serbia but also for the connectivity improvement between the region and other parts of Europe and Asia, contributing to improved connectivity among Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has, on multiple occasions, commended the progress made by the railway.

It took Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) 40 years to become the 16th-biggest lender in the US serving the tech industry. But it only took two days for its meltdown. When many were still pondering whether the biggest US bank failure since 2008 was another Lehman Moment that started the global financial crisis over a decade ago, Signature Bank, the 29th-biggest lender in the US, collapsed. Silvergate, another regional lender, also failed. The spectacular falls of the US banks exposed profound risks of the fragile US bank system.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivered a Government Work Report on Sunday on behalf of the State Council at the opening meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, part of the two sessions. The report reviewed major achievements in economic and social development that China has made in the past five years, which have been truly momentous and remarkable. This work report demonstrates China's willpower, resilience and confidence and sets targets for the year of 2023, which is the first year for the full implementation of the 20th CPC National Congress goals, a crucial year for the implementation of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), and a key year for the laying of the foundation to build a modern socialist country in all respects.

One year on, the great success of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games created wide-ranging sustainable legacies and long-lasting benefits for the host city and its people, with all Olympic competition venues opened to the public. The vision of "engaging 300 million people in winter sports" has been achieved as scheduled. The winter sport and tourism craze ignited by the Olympics has maintained momentum during the 2022-2023 ice and snow season. Related industries are full of vitality and the snow and ice economy is entering a new track in China. All Games technology innovations and new standards will continue to serve the ever-expanding winter sports industry across the country.

Lantern Festival boosts consumption in China -Sales revenue of yuanxiao dumplings: up 113% y-o-y -Lantern sales: up 130% y-o-y -Booking for Lantern Festival activities: up 300% y-o-y

China's factory and services activity expanded for the first time in four months in January -- a clear sign of economic recovery. The manufacturing PMI bounced back into expansion at 50.1, while non-manufacturing PMI stood at 54.4, up from 41.6 in Dec.

Ahead of the Spring Festival holidays, the first after China entered a new phase of COVID response, many foreign media made dire predictions about China's epidemic situation and economic recovery, with some even declaring a "COVID catastrophe." However, what transpired during the holidays offered a resounding rebuttal to such fearmongering. A stunning rebound in travel and consumption fully reflected China's economic vitality and vast potential to contribute to global growth this year, as other major economies such as the US and the eurozone face recession risks.

China's economic growth led the world with an avg. annual growth of 4.5% from 2020 to 2022, more than double the global avg. China's GDP reached 114.9 trillion yuan in 2021 (up 8.4% y-o-y), accounting for 18.6% of the world's total.

The 7-day Spring Festival witnessed China's strong economic growth: -Passenger trips: 225 mln -Domestic tourism revenue: 375.84 bln yuan ($55.4 bln) -Box office: 6.758 bln ($996.1 mln) -Sales revenue of consumption-related sectors: up 12.2%

China on Tuesday reported a 3-percent GDP growth for 2022. Considering what officials call “many unexpected” negative factors last year, the growth rate is a hard-won result for an economy as large as China's. Still, many foreign media outlets seized the slower growth rate to smear China's economic development and anti-COVID efforts over the past three years, while completely ignoring the global downturn and sharp declines in Western economies. As these charts show, China's response to the pandemic is much more effective in both protecting public health as well as minimizing economic losses.

China's economy posted steady growth in 2022 with the country's GDP topping 121 trillion yuan or $18 trillion, setting a new record high. A total of 12.06 million new urban jobs were created in 2022.

China's foreign trade grows 7.7% y-o-y to 42.07 trillion yuan ($6.26 trillion) in 2022, making the country the No.1 goods trading nation around the world for a sixth consecutive year. Import and exports to ASEAN countries saw a significant increase of 15%.

The just concluded three-day New Year's Day holiday is the first official holiday after China on December 7, 2022 adjusted its response to COVID-19. With many regions across the country have experienced the infection peak during the COVID-19 exit wave, some foreign media had painted a rather grim picture for business activities during the holidays. However, as these charts show, busy scenes on streets of Beijing and other major cities and at factories, ports and construction sites across the nation pointed to a bustling start to 2023 and portend a robust recovery this year.

As 2022 draws to a close and China's response to the COVID-19 pandemic also enters a new chapter, it is of great significance to take stock of how the Chinese economy fared over the past three years under the pandemic. While Western media outlets spared no effort in smearing the economic impact of China's anti-epidemic measures, with some constantly peddling the cliché "China collapse" theory, China's economy - whether in terms of headline GDP growth or improvement of livelihood or investment in future higher-quality development - fared much better than other major economies, particularly Western economies, during the pandemic. Numbers don't lie. As this infographic shows, China's economic miracle remains unstoppable despite mounting challenges from the pandemic and other global crises.

Chinese society picks up recovery momentum as country optimizes epidemic response measures.

China has taken multiple measures to reinvigorate economy. Several provinces sent business delegations abroad to attract investment as industries such as film and tourism that were impacted by the epidemic gradually recover.

As inflation outpaces wage growth in the US, the traditional shopping season at the end of the year seems to have lost steam, with spending per consumer falling sharply. The number of gifts US consumers plan to buy during the holiday season has also fallen, with a heavier reliance on debt spending. Meanwhile, Made-in-China clearly remains indispensable for US consumers despite Washington's “decoupling” push.

Infographic: Made-in-China empowers World Cup Qatar Infographic

A trial run of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) will shine Indonesia's presidency of the G20 Summit this year. Being the first high-speed rail in ASEAN and the first high-speed rail project launched overseas that fully uses Chinese technology, standards and equipment, the Jakarta-Bandung HSR is also a landmark project promoting the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Indonesia's Global Maritime Axis strategy. The Jakarta-Bandung HSR, which will help boost regional economic development upon completion, is among other BRI railway projects that have become the new models of international cooperation.

-More than $73.52 billion worth of tentative deals inked, up 3.9% y-o-y -2,800+ enterprises from 127 countries and regions participated -438 new products, technologies and services showcased

As Europe preps for cold winter, China's exports of heating equipment skyrocketing

China's economic data from Jan to Sep, 2022: GDP: 87.03 tln yuan Value-added industrial output: up by 3.9% y-o-y Total retail sales of consumer goods: 32 tln yuan Newly created urban jobs: 10.45 mln Foreign trade: up by 9.9% y-o-y

Since the 18th CPC National Congress when China entered a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the CPC Central Committee had committed to a people-centered development philosophy, and made it the immutable aim of all its work to deliver a better life for the people over the past decade.

For more than half a century since World War II, the US has frequently used various policies and sanctions to make other countries pay for its economic problems. Taking advantage of the dollar hegemony, the US has triggered catastrophic capital outflows from other countries, imported inflation and other problems throughout the world. US' economic and trade sanctions harmed global industrial and supply chain and its tech blockade disturbed global division of labor.

With a record high value of new contracts signed at the fair, the 19th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) concluded on Monday in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Since 2015, the production and sales of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) in China have ranked first in the world for seven consecutive years. The related industrial chain has been gradually stood up, with supporting infrastructure constantly improved. China's NEV industry has become an important force in leading the transformation and upgrade of the global automobile industry. The country's leading position in NEV has helped domestic auto industry enter a fast lane, where it used to lag behind countries such as Germany, Japan and the US. Now, China has become globally renowned for auto innovation and manufacturing.

As China and South Korea celebrate 30 years of rapidly developing bilateral relations, the two countries' massive economic and trade ties are also a highlight. However, as the US steps up pressure on South Korea and other allies to join its containment strategy against China, China-South Korea bilateral relations are also facing hurdles. Still, given the huge shared economic and trade interests between what officials call "eternal neighbors," there are still great prospect for further cooperation, including in chips and other advanced sectors, as shown on this page.

Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China since ancient times. Recently, as the US steps up its efforts to use Taiwan as a pawn to undermine China's development and progress, some Western politicians and media outlets are relentlessly distorting history and spreading lies about cross-Straits relations. But facts always prevail and numbers speak louder than words. The fact is Taiwan has, is and will always be an inalienable part of China. And in terms of social and economic development, riding the giant ship of the mainland's economy is the only path forward for Taiwan.

Shanghai's development in the past decade: -GDP: more than doubled -Per capita disposable income: more than doubled -Container throughput: ranked 1st globally for 12 consecutive years -Transaction volume in the financial market: over 4 times that of 2012

Northwest China's Xinjiang region was an important node of the ancient Silk Road, and is now a core area for the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt, and the forefront of China's westward opening-up. Over the past few years, despite mounting Western pressure, Xinjiang's development has never been stalled and it has witnessed robust economic growth. During his inspection tour in Xinjiang last week, President Xi Jinping stressed that as the Belt and Road cooperation advances, Xinjiang is no longer a remote corner but a core area and a hub. By integrating into the country's overall plan of westward opening-up, Xinjiang is now embracing a period of strategic opportunities for high-quality development.

Performance of China's national carbon market after one-year operation: -Total trading volume: 194 million tons -Total turnover: 8.49 billion yuan -Compliance rate: 99.5% -Stable price: 41.46-61.38 yuan per ton

It's been more than four years since former US President Donald Trump launched a trade war against China. After multiple rounds of back-and-forth tariff hikes and adjustments between the world's two largest economies, it has become clear to global observers that a trade war is not going to fix the US' domestic economic problems, and has only served to stoke inflation, create unemployment and slowdown GDP growth.

In the first half of 2022, China's foreign trade hit 19.8 trillion yuan ($2.94 trillion), a y-o-y increase of 9.4%.

Amazing Xinjiang shines despite West smears

China is the world's largest laptop producer, responsible for about 90 percent of the world's total output. In 2021, China exported 221.83 million laptops, up 22.4 percent year-on-year. Chinese laptops account for about 90 percent of the EU's total imports from non-EU markets. It is said that one out of every three laptops in the world comes from Southwest China's Chongqing. How laptops made in Chongqing reach the desks of European consumers? A roughly two-week journey on the China-Europe freight train shows how the rail network has boosted China-Europe trade over the past six years since the trains merged into a unified brand.

China's economy was on an impressive recovery in May, as latest official data show: -value-added industrial output up 0.7% -total retail sales of consumer goods decrease 6.7%, a decrease of 4.4% from April -foreign trade up 9.6%

China's industrial output logged avg. annual growth of 6.3% in past decade as manufacturing sector gained strength. - Industrial value-added output rose to 37.3 trl yuan in 2021 - China built world's largest network infrastructure with 413 mln 5G mobile phone users

China's total imports & exports expanded 8.3% y-o-y to 16.04 trillion yuan($2.4 trillion) from Jan-May of 2022 - ASEAN continues to be China's largest trading partner, accounting for 14.8% of total foreign trade - Trade with Belt and Road countries jumped by 16.8% y-o-y

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained China's largest trade partner, according to data released on Monday, and China has remained ASEAN's largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years from 2009 onwards. The two sides have remained committed to multilateralism and free trade, maintaining open markets, laying a solid foundation for future cooperation in new areas such as the digital economy. While an US-ASEAN summit will be held from Thursday, a Global Times survey found that 77.8 percent of people surveyed agree that the US is the biggest obstacle to productive China-ASEAN relations.

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which produces nearly 90 percent of all cotton in China, entered its peak season of cotton sowing in April. Despite a relentless smear campaign by Western anti-China forces, the Xinjiang cotton industry still stands strong and has even greater prospects. Supported by advanced technologies and various efforts, the Xinjiang cotton industry has been improved in many aspects, from seedling to quality to market share, dealing a major blow to Western anti-China forces seeking to cripple a major industry that supports the livelihood of millions of Xinjiang residents.

The global energy landscape has been reshaped significantly with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, especially for the EU, which heavily relies on Russia for its energy supply. The bloc imports over 45 percent of its total natural gas from Russia. As Moscow, in response to Western sanctions, demanded ruble payment for natural gas trade starting on April 1, Europe is facing the risk of an unprecedented energy crisis, which could also create a ripple effect throughout other sectors.