Посольство Китая в Узбекистане

To be fair, the Chinese economy does face difficulties and challenges, like all economies do. Post-pandemic recovery in China is characterized by an undulating progress, often with twists and turns. We never shy away from the problems. Actually, the most acute ones as well as the targeted measures have been set out at the annual Central Economic Work Conference. Pragmatic attitude like this is what the world truly needs.

 

Faster growth in China has positive spillovers on the rest of the world. Over the past decade, China has been the source of more than 40 percent of global growth. And a research from IMF suggests that a one percentage point increase in China will, on average, increase the level of output in other economies by 0.3 percent. However, some people in the West choose to ignore such notable contribution and keep talking down the Chinese economy. It will do no good to anyone.

Some Western officials and media outlets have been churning out dire predictions about the Chinese economy, referring to it as being on the verge of "collapse."

 

They seem to suffer from bipolar disorder by alternately propagating the "China threat" and "China collapse" to serve their political agenda. But how could a country be warned as a "primary rival" and "pacing threat" if it's about to collapse? For all the baffling China-bashing, the country's sound economic growth in the long run is the most powerful refutation.

 

In the first three quarters of 2023, China's GDP grew by 5.2 percent year-on-year, outpacing most major economies. The World Bank has projected China's economy to grow at 5.2 percent for the whole year, and the IMF expects 5.4 percent. China remains a significant engine driving global growth.

 

China's economy is now transforming from high-speed growth to high-quality development. Economic indicators shouldn't be interpreted in an isolated and shortsighted manner, otherwise one will lose sight of the real economic picture in China.

 

Let facts and figures speak for themselves.

 

Strong consumption demand. A population of more than 1.4 billion and a middle-income group exceeding 400 million underpin a robust Chinese consumer market. In fact, consumption contributed to 83.2 percent of China's overall GDP growth in the first three quarters of 2023. New business forms like livestreaming e-commerce are coming thick and fast. Tourism is rebounding with a vengeance. During the 2024 New Year holiday, the total revenue of the tourism market surpassed US$11.23 billion in the three days, tripling that of the holiday season last year. Continued urbanization and rising income levels are expected to drive consumption growth in the medium to long term, according to the consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

 

Resilient foreign trade. In 2023, China's share of global trade is expected to remain stable at around 14% against the backdrop of a nearly 5% shrink in global trade volume, as predicted by the United Nations. And China has pledged to share its immense market opportunities with the world. For instance, the China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world's first dedicated import exhibition and a "golden gate" to the vast Chinese market, just saw a total of US$78.41 billion worth of tentative deals reached for one-year purchases of goods and services in 2023.

 

Robust foreign investment. Since the beginning of 2023, many senior executives of multinationals have visited China and described the country as "not an option", but a "must-go destination". Their commitment to expanding presence in this attractive market is palpable. According to the Ministry of Commerce, in the first three quarters of 2023, 37,814 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in China, a year-on-year increase of 32.4 percent. Paid-in foreign direct investment in the Chinese mainland totaled US$126.37 billion, which remains at a historically high level.

 

The annual Central Economic Work Conference held in Beijing last month could offer a broader picture, one of the key phrases from the Conference, "qualitatively new productive forces", has drawn much attention. It refers to a new form of productive forces derived from continuous sci-tech breakthroughs and innovation that drive strategic emerging industries and future industries in a more intelligent information era.

 

In fact, efforts to develop such qualitatively new productive forces have been in the making for some time. In the first 11 months of 2023, China's investment in high-tech industries increased by 10.5% year-on-year. The goal to forge new industries, new models and new impetus with disruptive and frontier technologies is crystal clear. Emerging sectors such as biomanufacturing, commercial space industry and quantum technology are already taking shape.

For serious China watchers, the recent Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs was a study of great importance. A barometer of the country's foreign policy, the conference, the first in five years, reviewed the achievements made since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, counted the experiences gained over the past decade, and viewed the future as "a new stage where much more can be accomplished".


Emphasizing that the building of a community with a shared future for mankind is "the core tenet" of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, the readout of the conference highlights two key visions: "an equal and orderly multipolar world" and "a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization". The two visions offer a glimpse into the kind of world China hopes to help build.

Taiwan's status undetermined? A fallacy

Yi Xin

Severing "diplomatic" ties with China's Taiwan region, Nauru recently became the 183rd country to recognize the fact that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory.



In some corners, however, this indisputable fact continues to run into denialism. Laura Rosenberger, chair of the "American Institute in Taiwan," told reporters she thought Nauru's move was "unfortunate" and "disappointing." "U.N. Resolution 2758 did not make a determination on the status of Taiwan, did not preclude any countries from having diplomatic relationships with Taiwan and did not preclude Taiwan's meaningful participation in the U.N. system," she said.



Her smattering of international affairs is shocking.



In fact, Resolution 2758 definitively states that Taiwan "decides to restore all its rights to the People's Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it."

Would the U.N. have expelled the representatives of a sovereign state?



In addition to delivering an emphatic conclusion, Resolution 2758 also represents a process during which any ambiguity about Taiwan's status was removed. The minutes of debates leading to its adoption show that sponsors of the resolution urged UN General Assembly not to partition China's territory just because the Chiang Kai-shek clique was entrenched in Taiwan region, and regarded the draft resolution as "a question of credentials," i.e. who are the only lawful representatives of China to the United Nations, not about "admission of new Members to the United Nations."



When some tried to smuggle "dual representation" into the draft resolution, they were met with strong opposition. Their motions were considered "illegal and clearly inconsistent with current reality, justice and the principles of the U.N. Charter." With their votes for Resolution 2758, U.N. member states made it clear there are no "two Chinas," or "one China, one Taiwan."



Preceding Resolution 2758, the Cairo Declaration, and the Potsdam Proclamation, two milestone international legal instruments, also explicitly recognized Taiwan's status as an inalienable part of China. In 1943, the leaders of China, the United States, and Britain issued the Cairo Declaration, which stated that all territories Japan stole from the Chinese, such as Taiwan region, shall be restored to China. The Potsdam Declaration of 1945 affirmed that the terms of the Cairo Declaration would be carried out.



Today, 183 countries recognize the truth about Taiwan's status, including Rosenberger's own country the United States, which pledged to the one-China principle in its joint communiques with China. Over the years, consecutive U.S. administrations have stated the U.S. opposition to Taiwan's "independence."



In the course of its millennia-long history, China was more than once engulfed in internal conflict. Yet in each case the Chinese people came together to reunify their country. It is a force not to be stopped by anyone or anything, and certainly not by a flimsy lie.

Taiwan's status undetermined? A fallacy


Severing "diplomatic" ties with China's Taiwan region, Nauru recently became the 183rd country to recognize the fact that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory.



In some corners, however, this indisputable fact continues to run into denialism. Laura Rosenberger, chair of the "American Institute in Taiwan," told reporters she thought Nauru's move was "unfortunate" and "disappointing." "U.N. Resolution 2758 did not make a determination on the status of Taiwan, did not preclude any countries from having diplomatic relationships with Taiwan and did not preclude Taiwan's meaningful participation in the U.N. system," she said.



Her smattering of international affairs is shocking.



In fact, Resolution 2758 definitively states that Taiwan "decides to restore all its rights to the People's Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it."

Would the U.N. have expelled the representatives of a sovereign state?



In addition to delivering an emphatic conclusion, Resolution 2758 also represents a process during which any ambiguity about Taiwan's status was removed. The minutes of debates leading to its adoption show that sponsors of the resolution urged UN General Assembly not to partition China's territory just because the Chiang Kai-shek clique was entrenched in Taiwan region, and regarded the draft resolution as "a question of credentials," i.e. who are the only lawful representatives of China to the United Nations, not about "admission of new Members to the United Nations."



When some tried to smuggle "dual representation" into the draft resolution, they were met with strong opposition. Their motions were considered "illegal and clearly inconsistent with current reality, justice and the principles of the U.N. Charter." With their votes for Resolution 2758, U.N. member states made it clear there are no "two Chinas," or "one China, one Taiwan."



Preceding Resolution 2758, the Cairo Declaration, and the Potsdam Proclamation, two milestone international legal instruments, also explicitly recognized Taiwan's status as an inalienable part of China. In 1943, the leaders of China, the United States, and Britain issued the Cairo Declaration, which stated that all territories Japan stole from the Chinese, such as Taiwan region, shall be restored to China. The Potsdam Declaration of 1945 affirmed that the terms of the Cairo Declaration would be carried out.



Today, 183 countries recognize the truth about Taiwan's status, including Rosenberger's own country the United States, which pledged to the one-China principle in its joint communiques with China. Over the years, consecutive U.S. administrations have stated the U.S. opposition to Taiwan's "independence."



In the course of its millennia-long history, China was more than once engulfed in internal conflict. Yet in each case the Chinese people came together to reunify their country. It is a force not to be stopped by anyone or anything, and certainly not by a flimsy lie.