Signs point to strong resilience of nation's economy

China's economy enjoys strong resilience with positive fundamentals remaining unchanged despite downside pressure, and more efforts will be made to keep economic operations within a reasonable range, experts said on Tuesday.

Wang Yiming, a senior economist and a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, highlighted the strong resilience of the economy and the country's huge market potential, saying positive economic fundamentals remain unchanged.

Citing the Central Economic Work Conference held last month, Wang said at a news conference held in Beijing that the main focus is to pursue progress while ensuring stability.

Wang, who is also the former deputy director of Development Research Center of the State Council, warned of downside pressure this year, particularly in the first and second quarters, saying he expects policymakers may take greater steps to shore up growth in the first half.

" (Policymakers) need to be prudent in mapping out policies with contractionary effects," Wang added. "More efforts should be made to expand domestic demand, strengthen the resilience of the industrial and supply chains, and guard against and defuse major risks …"

Going forward, Wang estimated that fixed asset investment will stabilize in 2022 due to the rise in infrastructure investment and resilient manufacturing investment.

Citing the major economic indicators in 2021, Xiao Gang, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said China made substantial strides last year, showcasing the strong resilience and vitality of its economy.

The National Bureau of Statistics said China's economy expanded 8.1 percent year-on-year to 114.4 trillion yuan ($18 trillion) in 2021, with major indicators reaching the expected targets.

China, the world's second-largest economy, is expected to have accounted for more than 18 percent of the global economy in 2021. And the country's per capita GDP stood at $12,551 last year, approaching the World Bank's threshold for a high-income country, the NBS said.

Xiao, who is also a former chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said the figures demonstrate that economic fundamentals remain strong in the long term, providing confidence for economic recovery.

Xiao highlighted the importance of supporting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, saying more efforts should be made to resolve difficulties and ease pressures on SMEs.

Xiao suggested that the government should increase support for SMEs, make financing for SMEs easier and affordable, handle arrears owed to SMEs, develop supply chain finance practices, build a high-quality evaluation system for MSMEs that specialize in niche sectors and encourage the development of industrial clusters.