\u201cChina has maintained a leading position in the world in both economic development and epidemic prevention and control. China\u2019s advantage of a super-large market will continue to deliver benefits and the potential of China\u2019s domestic demand will continue to be unleashed,\u201d said an official with China\u2019s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
\nIn 2021, China continued to be a frontrunner in terms of economic development and COVID-19 containment. To guarantee stable economic operation, various localities and competent departments across the country rolled out a series of policies and measures to stabilize investment, stimulate consumption, and facilitate the growth of the domestic market last year.
\nThese policies and measures have helped the country realize continuous recovery in its consumer market and sustain growth momentum in investment.
\nDomestic consumption has remained a major driving force for China\u2019s economic development, contributing 79.1 percent to the country\u2019s economic growth in 2021, up 4.4 percentage points from the previous year.
\n\u201cIn 2021, the giant vessel of the Chinese economy traveled steadily and far. During the journey, China\u2019s domestic market continued to expand, supply capacity constantly improved, reform and opening-up reached deeper levels and broader areas, and people\u2019s living standards were further raised,\u201d said the official with the NDRC.
\nThese achievements are all helpful for continuously creating favorable conditions and more space for the growth of domestic consumption in 2022, according to the official.
\nChina\u2019s domestic consumption still has huge potential for growth. In 2021, the country\u2019s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 8.1 percent year on year to more than 114 trillion yuan (about $18 trillion). Meanwhile, China\u2019s per capita GDP exceeded $12,000, which is projected to surpass the global average.
\nLast year, China remained the world\u2019s second-largest commodity consumption market. As its new urbanization strategy was further promoted, the percentage of permanent urban residents in the country reached 64.72 percent in 2021, up 0.83 percentage points from that at the end of 2020.
\nContinuous improvement in the quality of supply has guaranteed a smoother virtuous cycle of supply and demand in China.
\nIn 2021, China deepened supply-side structural reform, promoted the development of industrial Internet, big data, smart manufacturing and reverse customization, and fostered new industries and new products at a faster pace.
\nChina has built the world\u2019s largest 5G standalone network. Last year, the country\u2019s shipments of 5G phones amounted to 266 million units, an increase of 63.5 percent from the previous year.
\nThe year 2021 also witnessed fast growth of both the production and sales of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) in China, with the country\u2019s NEV output and sales surging 159.5 percent and 157.5 percent respectively to around 3.55 million units and 3.52 million units.
\n\u201cIn 2022, China\u2019s advantages of full-fledged industrial system and stable production capacity and the continuously improving innovation capability of enterprises will play a greater role in leading and creating domestic consumption,\u201d said the official with the NDRC.
\nAs Chinese people\u2019s living standards have been improved continuously, their consumption desire has gradually recovered.
\nLast year, China\u2019s job market remained generally stable, while people\u2019s income continued to rise. The country added a total of 12.69 million new urban jobs in 2021, 830,000 more than that created in 2020. At the same time, China\u2019s per capita disposable income generally grew in step with the country\u2019s economic growth, rising 8.1 percent year on year in real terms.
\nThe country\u2019s social security system continued to improve in 2021. The numbers of people covered by the country\u2019s basic old-age insurance and basic medical insurance stood at 1.03 billion and 1.36 billion, with the coverage rates of the two types of insurances exceeding 90 percent and 95 percent, respectively.
\nIn 2021, China\u2019s Engel\u2019s coefficient was 29.8 percent, 0.4 percentage points lower than that of 2020.
\nAgainst the backdrop of sporadic resurgence of COVID-19 cases in multiple regions, China has well protected people\u2019s lives and safeguarded people\u2019s livelihoods, laying a sound foundation for further boosting the recovery of people\u2019s consumption desire, according to the official with the NDRC.
\nAs China achieved continuous progress in reform and opening-up, the growth drivers of domestic consumption gathered greater momentum.
\nIn 2021, China pushed forward with the construction of a unified national market in an orderly manner, carried out a pilot comprehensive reform of market-based allocation of production factors, and made plans for building a modern distribution system, further nurturing the vitality of market entities. The country is home to 150 million market entities, and sees a business activity rate of around 70 percent.
\nThanks to the efforts made by various regions and departments across the country to earnestly implement policies and measures aimed at stabilizing foreign trade, continue to shorten negative lists for foreign investment, and facilitate cross-border foreign trade and investment, the country saw its total imports and exports surpass $6 trillion and actual use of foreign investment exceed $1.1 trillion last year, both representing new highs in history.
\n\u201cThe benefits of reform and opening-up will continue to be unlocked and inject more driving force into the growth of domestic consumption,\u201d said the official.
\nChina will continue to deepen the supply-side structural reform and remain steadfast in the implementation of the strategy of expanding domestic demand, according to the official.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cChina has maintained a leading position in the world in both economic development and epidemic prevention and control. China\u2019s advantage of a super-large market will continue to deliver benefits and the potential of China\u2019s domestic demand will continue to be unleashed,\u201d said an official with China\u2019s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). In 2021, China […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245872,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[18,607,4335,2814,4336],"class_list":{"0":"post-245863","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-china","9":"tag-demand","10":"tag-domestic","11":"tag-potential","12":"tag-unleashed"},"yoast_head":"\n