China's gross domestic product reached 114.37 trillion yuan ($18 trillion) in 2021, an increase of 8.1 percent on a yearly basis, according to the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. Economists, experts, and analysts all said this performance beats expectations, especially amid the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic around the globe.
Xu Hongcai, deputy director of the Economic Policy Commission with the China Association of Policy Science, said the 8.1 percent GDP growth did not come easily. Xu said the CPI, employment and foreign trade performed the best.
According to Wen Bin, chief analyst at China Minsheng Bank, China's economic growth and pandemic prevention and control led the world in 2021, with major economic tasks fully fulfilled.
"China's economy has delivered a satisfactory report in 2021," said Yao Jingyuan, former chief economist at the NBS, adding that the country's economy is driven by internal driving force and vitality.
Let us take a look at the experts' views on China's economic performances in various sectors, as well as their expectations for 2022.
Consumer price index
China's CPI was up 0.9 percent in 2021 on a yearly basis, showing China has successfully controlled the inflation through policy adjustments, Xu said, according to a report of Beijing News on Tuesday.
"Everyday commodities, such as fruits, vegetables, pork, beef, mutton, and eggs are all in sufficient supply," he said.
Compared with other countries, especially the 40-year high inflation in the United States, China's consumer prices have remained low and stable, Yao said, reported China News Services on Tuesday.
Employment
A total of 12.69 million jobs were created in China's urban areas in 2021, an increase of 830,000 over the previous year, the NBS said. The surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 5.1 percent on average for the whole year, down 0.5 percentage points compared with the average of the previous year.
The newly added jobs and stable surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas can be attributed to China's economic recovery, as well as a series of preferential policies, which aided college graduates and migrant workers, Xu said.
Flexible employment also provided new channels for labor, as around 200 million Chinese people are in flexible employment, data show.
Foreign trade
China's foreign trade of goods totaled 39.1 trillion yuan in 2021, an increase of 21.4 percent year-on-year. In US dollar terms, China's imports and exports reached $6.05 trillion in 2021, hitting a record high and exceeding the $6 trillion threshold for the first time, Xu said.
As a major indicator of economic performance, China's foreign trade of goods reached an all-time high last year, Yao said.
Fixed-asset investment
In 2021, investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) increased 4.9 percent to 54.5 trillion yuan. It is worth noting that investment in high-technology industry rose 17.1 percent, Xu said, adding that high-technology manufacturing, equipment manufacturing, as well as new economy sectors all attracted investment, indicating structure optimizing and improving quality of investment.
Retail sales of consumer goods
Retail sales of consumer goods increased 12.5 percent on a yearly basis to 44.08 trillion yuan, the NBS data showed.
The contribution of domestic demand to economic growth reached 79.1 percent, an increase of 4.4 percentage points over the previous year, indicating that economic growth was mainly driven by domestic demand, Xu added.
Measures that boosted the economic recovery:
Efficient pandemic control measures
China's efficient pandemic prevention and control measures boosted the economic growth of the last year, Xu said, adding that China's supply chain and industrial chain have seen overall recovery with more orders returning to the country, indicating the resilience and integrity of China's economic industrial chains.
Aid to medium, small, and micro enterprises
In 2021, the high price of raw materials pushed up the costs of medium, small, and micro enterprises of the manufacturing sectors. The Chinese government then launched a series of measures and policies to cut taxes and fees, reduce financing costs, and provide targeted financial support, which drove the vitality of enterprises, Xu said.
Proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy
Besides, the coordination of proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy focused more on structural changes in medium and long term, Xu said, adding that the country has made steady progress in all reforms, and promoted high-quality economic development.
Innovation encouraged
Preferential policies have boosted innovations as well as R&D input of enterprises. The establishment of the Beijing Stock Exchange further assisted capital injection into innovative sectors, with strong support to the upgrading and transformation of China's industry, Xu said.
2022: Challenges ahead, but future is bright
Given the uncertainty of external environment, China's development will remain under pressure in 2022. However, the country will maintain its economic recovery with more new growth engines emerging.
On one hand, over 1.2 billion people are fully vaccinated in China, topping the world's major economies, which guarantees the foundation of the country's economic growth, Xu said.
On the other hand, China's complete industrial and supply chains are greatly resilient, and could adapt to changing market demand accordingly.
It is worth noting that the country's huge market size, namely over 1.4 billion population and 400 million middle class consumers, guarantees a strong domestic consumption market, Xu said.
Yao also said the expansion of domestic demand, especially the consumption sector, could make a major breakthrough in boosting China's economic development in 2022.
China remains the major trade partner of more than 120 countries and regions around the globe.
"The RCEP, which went into force on Jan 1 this year, remains an opportunity for China," Xu said, adding that the country could further reduce its operation costs and expand exports.
"Foreign trade remained one of the best performing macroeconomic sectors in 2021," said Zhang Jianping, director of the research center of the Commerce Ministry. Thanks to the country's policy support, the trade sector is about to continuously witness stable growth in 2022, and contribute to the overall Chinese economy growth, he said.