[This opinion piece was jointly contributed by People's Daily Senior Editor Pei Guangjiang and People's Daily International Affairs Commentator Li Yingqi.]
SEOUL, September 17 (AJP) - The "Su Super League," grassroots tournament Jiangsu Football City League, and the Village Super League, also known as Cun Chao, have gone viral, injecting fresh vitality into the integrated development of culture, commerce, tourism, and sports.
Labubu toys, elf-like dolls produced by Chinese toy maker Pop Mart, have become global sensations, showcasing the cross-cultural appeal of Chinese designer toys.
China's visa-free policies continue to pay dividends, fueling the rise of trends like "China Travel" and "Shop in China."
These developments reflect China's accelerating economic innovation, the highlights of high-quality development, reinforcing a sustained and steady growth trajectory.
Since the beginning of this year, China's economy has demonstrated stable and steady progress. Major economic indicators have performed well, new quality productive forces have developed steadily, and reform and opening up have continued to deepen, demonstrating remarkable vitality and resilience.
Recently, international financial institutions and investment banks, including the International Monetary Fund, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs, have raised their forecasts concerning China's economic growth in 2025.
A United Nations report identifies China as one of the few major economies achieving substantially upgraded growth expectations amid global economic adjustments. The report emphasized that China's increasingly prominent role in navigating complex global challenges through its economic strategies.
Recent international media analysis highlights an emerging "cool factor" - a dynamic appeal rooted in innovation, cooperation, and youth culture - driving more balanced economic growth in China. This momentum is poised to propel China's next growth cycle, potentially reshaping its global economic identity through open collaboration.
This innovative dynamism permeates China's economic landscape. The country continues to harness scientific and technological innovation to develop new quality productive forces, accelerate the cultivation of emerging pillar industries with international competitiveness, and promote the integrated development of technological and industrial innovation, injecting strong impetus into economic development.
According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, in 2024, the added value of new industries, new business formats, and new business models accounted for 18.01 percent of China's GDP, up 0.43 percentage points from a year earlier.
China now hosts the world's largest R&D workforce, leads globally in top-tier science and technology innovation clusters, and counts over 460,000 high-tech enterprises. Breakthroughs in open-source AI models and novel therapeutics continue to emerge, while cutting-edge sectors like intelligent drone manufacturing and smart automotive equipment thrive.
In the first half of this year, the added value of China's high-tech manufacturing industry grew by 9.5 percent. Foreign investment in high-tech sectors rose significantly, with notable increases in the actual use of foreign capital in the e-commerce service sector, chemical pharmaceuticals manufacturing sector, and aerospace equipment manufacturing sector.
Recently, a delegation from U.S.-China Business Council's board delegation - comprising senior executives from leading American firms - visited China. They noted that China has sent a clear signal of further expanding high-level opening up, which is crucial for foreign companies, including U.S. enterprises, seeking to invest and expand in China.
At a time when the rise of unilateralism and protectionism has added significant uncertainty to the global economy, China's policy stability and long-term planning of high-level opening up are particularly valuable.
From 24 pro-foreign investment measures to 20 specific measures aimed at stabilizing foreign capital, from "negative lists" to "zero-tariff treatment," China continues to foster a market-oriented, law-based and world-class business environment.
China is also expanding trials to open sectors such as telecommunications, medical services, and education, promoting the opening of biomedicine, while encouraging foreign companies to make equity investments, making itself a favored destination for foreign investment. China remains committed to widening its opening to the global economy.
At a time when the world economy faces numerous challenges, China injects greater certainty into the global economy through its stable development and generates new opportunities for various countries by continuously expanding its opening up.
As the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021~2025) nears conclusion and the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026~2030) approaches, China will respond to an uncertain external environment with strong and effective policies, make good use of development opportunities, potential and advantages, and consolidate and expand the positive momentum of economic recovery and improvement to keep the ship of the Chinese economy sailing ahead.
As a country pursuing high-quality development, China will bring broader market opportunities, investment opportunities, and growth opportunities to the world, and pursue common development with various countries.
(Pei Guangjiang and Li Yingqi are senior editor and international affairs commentator of the International News Department of People's Daily, respectively.)
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
