On April 18th China's first quarter economic results were released. According to preliminary calculations, China's GDP in the first quarter reached 2.7017.8 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.8 percent year-on-year and 1.3 percent quarter-on-quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2021 calculated at constant prices. Major macro indicators remained within the proper range, with the CPI rising 1.1% year on year, per capita disposable income up 6.3% in nominal terms, the surveyed urban unemployment rate averaging 5.5%, and total imports and exports of goods reaching 9,415.1 trillion yuan, up 10.7% year on year. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, all regions and departments have coordinated epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development, given top priority to ensuring stability and making progress while maintaining stability. As a result, the national economy has continued to recover and the economy has maintained overall stability. The steady opening of the economy in the first quarter proves once again that the fundamentals of China's economy remain resilient, full of potential and sound in the long run. We must remain committed to doing our own business well and continue to strengthen the economic foundation.

We have full confidence in the performance of the Chinese economy at the beginning of this year. Since the beginning of this year, the international situation has become more complex and grave, and the domestic epidemic has become more numerous, widespread and frequent, and its impact on economic performance has increased. In spite of pressure, we gave greater priority to ensuring steady growth. We overcame obstacles and took proactive measures. As a whole, we stabilized the overall macroeconomic market and kept the economy operating within an appropriate range. At the same time, new progress was made in high-quality development. In the first quarter, the added value of industries above designated size increased by 6.5 percent year-on-year, that of high-tech manufacturing by 14.2 percent, and that of information transmission, software and information technology services by 10.8 percent. At present, the stable industrial and supply chains, the large domestic market, the strong potential of domestic demand, and the huge advantages and potential of scientific and technological innovation all underpin the strong resilience of the Chinese economy and build up our confidence.

The overall resilience of the economy is reflected in the stability and reliability of the industrial and supply chains. To ensure the production of enterprises on the supply side and stabilize manufacturing in China is an important measure to address risks and challenges, but also an important means to take a long-term view and win the initiative in development. Since last year, we have built national manufacturing innovation centers, launched a project to rebuild the industrial foundation, launched a campaign to strengthen key industrial chains, and accelerated the rise of a large number of chain-leading enterprises and specialized and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. In the first quarter, the added value of agriculture (planting industry) increased by 4.8% year on year, the market supply was sufficient, coal output kept running at a high and stable level, and the price fell steadily. The shipment volume of national railway goods reached 948 million tons, up 2.8% year on year. Due to the impact of the epidemic, local supply chains have not been smooth recently. The central and local governments have made efforts to ensure people's livelihood, smooth transportation and recycle industries. To ensure the stability and security of industrial and supply chains and guarantee the fight against the epidemic and economic recovery, we have policies and plans that are solid and effective.

The economy as a whole is resilient, which is reflected in the huge potential of the market and domestic demand. China has a unique advantage in expanding domestic demand, with a super-large domestic demand market formed by over 1.4 billion people, including more than 400 million middle-income groups. The demand levels are rich and the scale advantage is remarkable. In the first quarter, the per capita income ratio of urban and rural residents decreased by 0.04 compared with the same period last year, and the per capita consumer expenditure nationwide was 6,393 yuan, a nominal increase of 6.9% over the previous year. There is still great potential to boost consumption. Investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) increased by 9.3% year-on-year, with mining investment up by 19.0% and manufacturing investment up by 15.6%. We will move faster to build a unified national market that is efficient, standardized, fair, and fully open to competition. We will link production, distribution, circulation, and consumption, unblock the cycle of the national economy, actively expand effective investment, and take a comprehensive approach to unleash the potential of consumption. As a result, domestic demand will become a stronger driver of economic growth.

The overall resilience of the economy is also reflected in the new drivers of innovation-driven development. Technological innovation will not only empower enterprises, but also boost the market, improve the quality and level of the supply system, and create new demand with new supply. This year, the monetary policy created special loans for science and technology innovation, the fiscal policy focused on manufacturing and science and technology innovation to provide tax support, and organized the construction of key laboratories in many places. In the first quarter, scientific and technological innovation unleashed new driving forces. Investment in the information service industry and the service sector for the application of scientific and technological achievements increased by 21.3% and 19.0% respectively. The output of new-energy vehicles, solar cells and industrial robots increased by 140.8%, 24.3% and 10.2% respectively. By carefully implementing policies to promote scientific and technological innovation and industrial upgrading and steadfastly deepening reform to delegate power, regulation and services, we will be able to invigorate the market and boost the internal drivers of development, and consolidate and strengthen the foundation of the real economy.

Only its difficult, only more show yong yi; Only its sincere action, is precious. The more difficult it is, the more we must strengthen our confidence and work hard. The fundamentals of China's economy remain sound in the long run, the momentum of sustained recovery remains unchanged, and the Chinese economy has great potential, strong resilience and broad space for development. We will coordinate epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development, give top priority to ensuring stability and make progress while maintaining stability. We will surely overcome both internal and external risks and challenges, achieve the targets and tasks we have set, and take concrete actions to welcome the opening of the 20th CPC National Congress.

Source: State-owned Assets And Administration Commission of The State Council