Opinion

China’s resurgent economic growth will be a boon to the world in 2023

China’s reopening has fuelled optimism over global growth as the world’s second-largest economy demonstrates its resilience and begins firing on all cylinders again

The unleashing of pent-up travel demand and consumer spending over the Lunar New Year holiday is a powerful rebuttal of the economic doomsayers

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A woman works on a vehicle assembly line at a JAC Automotive factory in Qingzhou, in eastern Shandong province, on January 31. China’s economic growth could be an important factor in averting a global recession in 2023. Photo: AFP

Liu Guangyuan is Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Published: 3:45pm, 2 Feb 2023

China’s GDP expanded by 3 per cent year on year in 2022 – better than many major economies – and climbed above the 120 trillion yuan (US$17.8 trillion) mark for the first time as the economy navigated rough waters throughout the year and overcame headwinds from the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions.

Looking to 2023, China’s economy will see a robust improvement as the better-than-expected, hard-won growth from last year has demonstrated its resilience. With strong positive signals seen in China’s market and policies in recent weeks, the nation’s dual role as a stabiliser and locomotive of the global economy has been further highlighted.

China’s reopening has fuelled optimism over global growth. The seven-day Lunar New Year holiday saw the country’s pent-up travel demand unleashed, with vast numbers of tourists again seen across the country and overseas. A total of 308 million domestic trips were made during the week, almost 90 per cent of the 2019 figure, before the pandemic began. Outbound flight bookings rose 6.7 times over the 2022 level.