Source: CD Published: 2024-03-07

BEIJING -- China set its economic growth target for 2024 at around 5 percent again, according to a government work report submitted Tuesday to the national legislature for deliberation.

Experts and business insiders worldwide have voiced their optimism about the target and expressed confidence in China's long-term economic growth, saying the target is in line with the reality of China's economic development and demonstrates the Chinese government's rational, objective, and pragmatic economic governance.

'This growth target is well suited to China's national conditions: China has designed a high-quality economic development model for the current stage, advocating green economy and high-tech development. This will inject strong vitality into the world economy,' said Luis Fernandez, senior researcher at the World Economic Research Center of the University of Havana.

The goal, which is the same as that of 2023, the previous year's growth target, shows China's commitment to high-quality development despite uncertainties at home and abroad.

Jeffrey Sachs, a professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, said that China's technological advances are very rapid and 'these advances put China in a strong global position for the coming years.'

To achieve the economic growth target, this year's government work report proposes modernizing the industrial system and accelerating the development of new quality productive forces, which create a better economic landscape as seen this year.

'The concept of 'new (quality) productive forces' is a good response to the immense potential that lies in the latest scientific and technological developments, such as artificial intelligence, to increase our productivity while making it more sustainable and environmentally friendly and reducing the use of human labor,' said Michael Schumann, head of the German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade.

According to the Global Innovation Index 2023 released by the World Intellectual Property Organization, China, ranking 12th, is the only middle-income economy within the top 30, and close to the top 10.

'China has achieved leadership in the new energy industry and smart car manufacturing. Such industries still have huge potential,' said Yan Li, senior lecturer at Nanyang Business School of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, adding that with the new quality productive forces, China will further enhance its position in the global industrial chain.

One highlight of the government work report is the proposal to promote high-standard opening-up, align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, steadily expand institutional opening-up.

To attract foreign investment, this year's government work report put forward a series of specific measures such as continuing to reduce the negative list for foreign investment access, completely removing restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector, and relaxing market access for services such as telecommunications and medical care.

Executive Vice President of Panasonic Corporation Tetsuro Homma said the business environment in China is desirable and Japanese companies regard China as an important market, and they have been actively expanding businesses in China.

The Japanese tech company will continue to delve into the Chinese market, Homma told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Alexis Perakis-Valat, president of the L'Oreal Consumer Products Division, said he is 'very excited about the future of China' as China has a large middle class and upper middle class.

'The prospects of growth of L'Oreal in China are very high,' he said, adding that 'we are convinced that the next China is China.'

According to the International Financial Forum, China contributed 32 percent to the global economic growth in 2023 and remains the largest engine of world development.

Faster growth in China has positive spillovers on the rest of the world. A one percentage point increase in China would, on average, increase the level of output in other economies by 0.3 percent, the International Monetary Fund's research shows.

The world's confidence in China is rooted in China's economic strategic consistency, said Khin Maung Soe, former advisor of Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International.

Similarly, Jean Christophe Iseux von Pfetten, chairman of the Institute for East-West Strategic Studies in Britain, noted that good decisions such as nurturing and strengthening the private economy are welcomed not only by the Chinese themselves but also by the foreign entrepreneurs.

The Chinese market remains attractive to foreign investments due to its size, the growing middle class, and government support for key industries. China's efforts to deepen reforms and expand openness demonstrate a commitment to sustainable growth and integration into the global economy, said Joseph Mutaboba, a Rwandan expert in international relations and diplomatic affairs.