Why did World Bank raise Chinas economic growth forecast?
People's Daily Online) 09:50, July 08, 2021  The World Bank has raised its latest forecast for Chinas economic growth this year to 8.5 percent from 8.1 percent. This revision can be attributed to the stable improvement of China's economy, experts believed. Workers weld at a workshop of an automobile manufacturing enterprise in Qingzhou City, east China's Shandong Province, Feb. 28, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Jilin)  In addition to the World Bank, S&P Global Ratings was also sanguine about China's economic prospects, as the company recently affirmed China's ratings at A+/A-1 with a stable outlook, and expected China's real GDP growth to come in at 8.3 percent this year. China has taken the lead in resuming production, noted Wang Jun, chief economist of Zhongyuan Bank, adding that compared with other economies hit by COVID-19, China's manufacturing and service sectors demonstrated strong resilience, and its enterprises have gradually recovered their vitality. "Due to the outbreak of the epidemic, China's exports were greatly boosted, which not only helps meet global demand, but also drove up China's economy last year. China's economy grew by a record 18.3 percent in the first quarter of 2021, and the steady recovery is expected to continue in the second quarter," Wang explained. China's economic growth can be seen particularly clearly in three aspects, noted Liu Xiaoguang, associate professor with Renmin University of China. Firstly, China's national economy has achieved restorative growth, and the long-term growth trend of real GDP has resumed. Secondly, the two-year average growth rate of the agricultural planting industry, industrial added value, and service production index have reached or even exceeded pre-epidemic levels. Thirdly, China is seeing strong growth in foreign trade and foreign investment, Liu pointed out. For the next step, "China should lay emphasis on not only short-term economic recovery, but also the cultivation of long-term growth momentum," said Wang Yiming, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. It is necessary for China to further implement the strategy of expanding domestic demand, especially to promote the expansion of consumer demand and unleash the potential of the domestic market, the vice chairman explained. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)