Since the beginning of this year, China’s economy has been moving towards “a positive direction at a prudent pace”, People’s Republic of China (PRC) Ambassador to Jamaica Chen Daojiang told the local media at a briefing last Tuesday.

According to Chen, China made a good start this year when the first quarter witnessed a speedy recovery of major economic indicators. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the gross domestic product (GDP) of China reached RMB 28.4997 trillion (Chinese yuan) in the first quarter of 2023, with an increase of 4.5 per cent year on year, higher than the market expectation of 4 per cent.

He said that, given the good performance of China’s economy, the World Bank, IMF, Fitch Group, Goldman Sachs, UBS Group, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, OECD, European Commission and other international organisations and enterprises increased the growth expectation for China’s economy in 2023 to the range of 5 per cent to 6.5 per cent.

“It is estimated that China will contribute one-third of the world economic growth this year,” Chen said, as he marked the first anniversary of his station to Jamaica which began on May 30, 2022. He was speaking during a hours long get-together with the local press at his home in St Andrew.

He said that from 2013 to 2021, China’s economy averaged growth rate of 6.6 per cent, much higher than the 2.6 per cent of the world’s average, and 3.7 per cent of the growth rate of developing economies.

Chen also noted that, in the same period, China has contributed 38.6 per cent of world economic growth, annually, on average, higher than that of G7 countries combined. In 2021, China’s GDP accounts for 18.5 per cent of the world, 7.2 percentage point higher than 10 years ago. China is the world’s second largest economy and the largest trading partner with US$6.9 trillion of foreign trade, 56.8 per cent higher than a decade ago. China’s sound economic growth, in the long run, stay unchanged.

“China’s gate will remain open. We will continue to uphold the principle of openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. China will be firmly committed to high-level opening up and sharing the development benefits with Jamaica and other countries to make positive contributions to the robust, sustainable, balanced and inclusive development,” Ambassador Chen added.

Turning to the belt and road cooperation, he pointed out that in 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is a high-quality public good initiated by China, built by the parties involved, and shared by the world. It delivers high-standard, sustainable and livelihood-enhancing outcomes, and is hence widely welcomed.

“So far more than 3/4 of the countries and 32 international organisations have participated in it,” he asserted. He also said that, in the past 10 years, China worked with countries along the route and yielded fruitful results.

According to a report by World Bank, the trade of BRI participants increased by 4.1 per cent, with a 5 per cent increase of foreign investment and 3.4 per cent increase for the low-income countries.

He said that, thanks to the BRI, from 2012 to 2021, the economic total of emerging countries accounts for 3.6 percentage point higher in the world economy. According to World Bank, BRI would generate a total of US$1.6 trillion for the world, accounting for 1.3 percent of global GDP.

From 2015 to 2030, due to the BRI, 7.6 million people would be lifted out of absolute poverty and 32 million people would be lifted out of medium poverty.

In the past 10 years, the BRI led to investment of nearly US$1 trillion, bringing more than 3,000 cooperation projects, creating more than 420,000 jobs and lifting nearly 40 million people out of poverty.

The China-Europe Railway has already witnessed 65,000 trains. They are a steel caravan connecting Europe and Asia and has become an important stabiliser for global supply chain and industrial chain.

The ambassador noted that, Jamaica was the first Caribbean country to sign the cooperation plan on jointly promoting BRI cooperation.

“This fully demonstrates the level of importance and support Jamaica attaches to the BRI. In recent years. China and Jamaica have jointly promoted the BRI cooperation and yield good outcomes through various cooperation under the BRI framework,” he said.

“This year, China would take the chance of hosting the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and continue to uphold the principle of “extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.

“We would continue to work with Jamaican and other countries and promote BRI to yield more fruitful results,” he suggested.