Opinion

Chinese economy provides key support for the world

In the first quarter of this year, China's GDP grew by 5 percent year on year, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality. Amid significantly rising global uncertainties and unpredictable factors, as well as the spillover effects of geopolitical conflicts, the sound performance of the Chinese economy has provided key support for the global economy to withstand risks and move toward recovery.

China's complete industrial system ensures its stable supply. In the first quarter, the value-added output of China's industrial enterprises above the designated size increased by 6.1 percent year on year. From new energy equipment to electronic components, and from chemical products to high-end equipment, China's sustained efficient and stable output continues to deliver reliable products worldwide, acting as a stabilizer that helps bridge supply shortfalls resulting from regional production standstills and blocked logistics.

China's vast market unleashes demand potential. In the first quarter, China's total foreign trade in goods reached 11.84 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15 percent. Among this, imports stood at 4.99 trillion yuan, growing by nearly 20 percent. Imports grew 7.7 percentage points faster than exports, a surprising outcome that has caught the market's eye and highlights China's dual role not just as the world's factory but also as a global market.

Strong innovation capacity opens up future growth space. In the first quarter, the value-added output of equipment manufacturing grew by 8.9 percent year-on-year, while that of high-tech manufacturing rose by 12.5 percent. Production of 3D printing equipment, lithium-ion batteries, and industrial robots surged by 54 percent, 40.8 percent, and 33.2 percent year on year, respectively. Stronger growth in China's high-tech manufacturing is delivering more high-value goods to global markets, while driving down costs of manufactured products through innovation and scale. At the same time, China's rapid advance in frontier technologies is opening up new investment directions, new industrial tracks, and new growth possibilities worldwide.

Policy

1. China recently initiated the world's first international standard in the field of embodied artificial intelligence within the International Organization for Standardization. China has also promoted the establishment of a working group on this standard, with the first convener appointed from Chinese experts. The newly initiated international standard will specify general requirements for the entire lifecycle process of humanoid robot datasets, providing a unified framework for the research, development, testing, and application of humanoid robots worldwide.

2. China's National Development and Reform Commission has released the second batch of major project lists for 2026 under the country's initiative for implementing major national strategies and building security capacity in key areas. It also allocated 216.8 billion yuan of ultra-long special treasury bonds to support 336 key projects. The projects span key areas including artificial intelligence, urban underground pipeline renovation, transport infrastructure along the Yangtze River Economic Belt, high-standard farmland, and higher education upgrading, Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program.

Data

1. Tianjin Port launched a new direct shipping route to South Africa on April 18, deploying 12 ships with a capacity of 140,000 tons each. The route operates weekly to South Africa, enabling stable direct shipping between Tianjin Port and South Africa's Coega Port and Durban Port, with the shortest voyage taking only 40 days.

2. China's first large-scale application project for hydrogen-blended natural gas at the 100,000-household level was officially launched on April 19 in Weifang, Shandong Province. The project relies on the existing urban natural gas pipeline network infrastructure in Weifang to achieve stable transmission and distribution of hydrogen-blended natural gas.

3. China's civil aviation sector handled 66.63 million passenger trips in March, up 12.1 percent year on year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on April 20.

4. China's service industry continued to strengthen its role as a major growth driver in the first quarter of 2026. The service sector contributed 63.2 percent to the country's economic growth during the period, up 4 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

5. China's corporate credit performance has sustained a solid and sound trend. The China Enterprise Credit Index, issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation, stood at 162.05 in the first quarter of 2026. The financial industry, education, electricity, heating, gas, and water production and supply, manufacturing, and water conservancy, and public facilities management ranked among the top five in terms of credit index.

6. Since the beginning of this year, the China Development Bank has continued to increase medium- and long-term financing support in key areas such as green infrastructure, clean energy, ecological protection, and pollution prevention and control. By the end of the first quarter, it had issued over 150 billion yuan in green loans, further increasing the proportion of green loans in its total credit assets.

7. According to statistics from Gongbei Customs, in the first quarter of this year, the total value of imports and exports via the Zhuhai Highway Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge reached 96.17 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 55.4 percent. The bridge port's role as a core trade channel on the west bank of the Pearl River has become increasingly prominent.

8. According to customs statistics, in the first quarter of this year, the total value of imports and exports in the Yangtze River Delta region reached 4.49 trillion yuan, setting a new historical high, with a year-on-year increase of 15.8 percent. Its share of the nation's total import and export value rose to 37.9 percent, further solidifying its role as a stabilizer of foreign trade.

9. According to the Guangdong Sub-Administration of the General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter, the total imports and exports of the nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area reached 2.45 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.7 percent, setting a new historical high for the same period.

10. According to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, central state-owned enterprises maintained stable and orderly operations in the first quarter of this year, with continuous improvements in operational quality and efficiency. They completed fixed asset investments of 1.05 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23.5 percent, and achieved added value of 2.7 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of approximately 3 percent.

(Source: Economic Daily)