On March 7, Consul General Li Xuhang published a signed article in Al Bayan, a mainstream newspaper in the UAE, titled "Bring Hope to Global Economy". The English translation of the full text is as follows:
In the first quarter of 2021, while the rest of the world was still suffering from the severe pandemic of Covid-19, China had already contained the spread of the coronavirus effectively. Last year, China was the world's only major economy to achieve growth. In the first quarter of this year, it kept the momentum of economic recovery and achieved a good start with gratifying data.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, China's GDP in the first quarter increased by 18.3% year-on-year and 10.3% compared with the first quarter of 2019, indicating that China's economy is recovering with strong momentum. The main economic indicators showed double-digit growth. For example, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 24.5%, the retail sales of social consumer goods increased by 33.9%, fixed asset investment increased by 25.6%, and the total value of import and export increased by 29.2%. Moreover, other facts such as the overall stable employment, the good performance of new development drivers, the market vitality, and the steady growth of per capita disposable income of residents across the country are also reflective of the strong trend of recovery, which brings smiles back to the Chinese people's faces. Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised China growth forecast to 8.4% in 2021, an increase of 0.3 percentage points, showing the international community's confidence in China's economic development throughout the year.
Why could China maintain a strong momentum of economic recovery while facing the challenge of the epidemic in the winter and spring and the uncertainty in the rest of the world? The policies for maintaining security in six key areas and ensuring stability on six key fronts play a crucial role. The core of these policies is to ensure living standards while keeping the economy stable. In difficult times, it is short-sighted to promote the economy at the expense of people's wellbeing. The Chinese government focuses on two groups that are key to ensuring living standards, that is job seekers and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). We devoted major efforts to stabilizing employment and alleviating the difficulties of MSMEs through policy and financial support, which helped enterprises resume operations and increase employment. The improvement of people's livelihood also greatly stimulated consumption needs, which has become the first driving force for the resumption of China's growth rate. In addition, creating new forms and models of high-tech and service businesses as well as improving business environment also added vitality to the economic recovery in China. Over time, domestic circulation and international circulation will facilitate each other even further. As China enters the new development stage, applies the new development philosophy, and creates a new pattern of development, the trend that China will sustain long-term growth will be consolidated. China will provide lasting impetus and broad opportunities for the development of the world economy since China's growth will drive global growth.
Recently, I have been seeing news that the UAE's economy continues to recover. I am sincerely happy for the achievements of the UAE, China's good friend, good partner and good brother, in fighting the epidemic and promoting development. China and the UAE share the same development philosophy and have similar policy goals. Both countries are good at seeking long-term development. We have formulated our own long-term development plans, so that we can see the general trend and maintain determination when facing difficulties. We have continued to make new achievements and expanded spaces for each other to deepen our cooperation.
Spring is the season of hope. UAE, an oasis of development in the Middle East, and China, the engine of world economic development, with their steady recovery of economy, bring new hopes not only for us ourselves, but also for the recovery and development of the world economy.