Economy remains on healthy growth track: China Daily editorial

Although the year-on-year growth of most production and demand indicators of the Chinese economy dipped in April compared to March, they still indicate a steady recovery.

The data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday demonstrate that despite the longtail impacts of the epidemic, growth momentum is being maintained with production steadily rising and demand continuously expanding.

The year-on-year growth of the added value of industries created by large enterprises in April was 6.8 percent on average over the past two years, 0.6 percentage points more than the previous month. And that of the indicator of activities in the service sector was 6.2 percent, slightly lower than the previous month.

The profitability of large enterprises is becoming stronger. In the first quarter, the profit of enterprises with an annual turnover of more than 20 million yuan ($3.11 million) in their main business increased 1.4 times year-on-year, and their average growth over the past two years was 22.6 percent, as the Purchasing Managers' Index of the manufacturing industry and the indicator of business activities of the service industry have stayed above the threshold for expansion for 14 consecutive months, indicating the vitality of the service sector is continuously strengthening.

Exports grew 14.7 percent year-on-year in April, faster than the previous month, and the year-on-year growth of the total retail sales of consumer goods for the past two years in April was 4.3 percent on average, showing a steadily rising momentum. Also, the average growth of fixed asset investment from January to April over the past two years was 3.9 percent, 1 percentage point more than that from January to March, showing market confidence is picking up. All indicate the economy is developing on a healthy track.

It is good to see that the number of registered urban unemployed dropped 0.2 percentage points from the previous month in April, falling to 5.1 percent, and that over the first four months of this year, a total of 4.37 million jobs were created. The recovery of the economy is breathing life into the employment market, and while the consumer price index surged 0.9 percent in April compared with the same month last year, that was a mild increase. That means the epidemic's impacts on the economy and people's lives and livelihoods are being eased gradually.

However, unilateralism and protectionism continue to take a toll on the global supply chains, and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage in many countries, making them a source of uncertainties.

Realizing high-quality development has never been easy, China should maintain the stability, prudence and foresight of its macroeconomic policies to make the best of what it has while effectively managing risks. On the other hand, it must adjust its pro-growth, pro-innovation and pro-employment policies in a timely manner to make them more pertinent to their intended purposes.