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China's merchandise trade in the first two months of 2024 hit a record high of 6.61 trillion yuan ($918.3 billion), up 8.7 percent year-on-year, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced on Thursday, beating forecasts and signaling a good start to the new year. 

Experts said that exports had gained growth momentum, thanks to expanding demand and rising product competitiveness. In the longer term, China's foreign trade will show stable and positive expansion, supporting the GDP growth target of about 5 percent.

Exports in the first two months rose 10.3 percent to 3.75 trillion yuan, and imports were up 6.7 percent to 2.86 trillion yuan.

"Foreign trade saw a better-than-expected performance in the January-February period, mirroring the resilience of the country's economy with expanding domestic and external demand," Tian Yun, an economist based in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.

ASEAN remained China's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade totaling 993.24 billion yuan, up 8.1 percent year-on-year and accounting for 15 percent of China's total trade.

The EU was China's second-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade of 832.39 billion yuan, down by 1.3 percent. The US was No.3, with trade up 3.7 percent to 707.7 billion yuan.

In the first two months, trade with Belt and Road Initiative partner countries reached 3.13 trillion yuan, up 9 percent. 

Zhou Maohua, an economist from China Everbright Bank, said on Thursday that the record trade figures reflected the recovery of overseas demand, the optimization of the export structure and a boom in new export drivers. 

Electromechanical products accounted for nearly 60 percent of Chinese exports, with automatic data processing equipment, integrated circuits and automobiles showing significant growth, the GAC said.

Exports of automatic data processing equipment reached 195.45 billion yuan, up 7.3 percent, while exports of integrated circuits soared 28.6 percent and those of vehicles increased 15.8 percent.

"The figures mirrored China's continuous industrial upgrading and showed that the competitiveness of its high-tech products and equipment manufacturing industry in the world was increasing," Tian noted.

Conditions were also favorable for trade by private enterprises. Their total trade stood at  3.61 trillion yuan, up 17.7 percent, accounting for 54.6 percent of the total - an increase of 4.2 percentage points from the same period last year.

"Growth in exports led to an increase in domestic production, while the increase in imports reflected strong domestic demand, both of which will help drive the country's GDP growth in the first quarter this year," Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

The Government Work Report, delivered by Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday at the opening meeting of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, set a GDP growth target of about 5 percent for 2024.

The government vowed to work to steadily increase the volume and raise the quality of foreign trade, with efforts including supporting businesses in diversifying their overseas markets and increasing new growth drivers for foreign trade, including trade in intermediate goods and green trade.

Tian noted that boosted by support policies, foreign trade will maintain moderately positive growth throughout the whole year with an expansion of 3-5 percent. 

"China's foreign trade is expected to hit a record high this year, contributing more to the realization of the country's GDP growth target," Tian said.

Fostering artificial intelligence (AI) literacy is a long-term endeavor that involves cultivating students’ interest and ability from a young age. A deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC) suggested on Monday the country integrate AI literacy education into the nine-year compulsory education curriculum, introduce a general AI course, and incorporate relevant content into primary and secondary school activities.

AI stands as a new driver of technological revolution and industrial transformation. Accelerating the development of a new generation of AI is a strategic issue that will determine whether China can seize the opportunities presented by AI innovation, said Lei Jun, CEO of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and a deputy to the NPC.

Looking at the long-term trends, there is a growing demand across industries for talent skilled in basic AI. However, based on the current practical technological level of generative AI in China, there is a clear shortfall of the talent, Lei said.

The shortage of AI talent with a diverse skill set is even more acute. Strengthening talent cultivation in the field of AI will be a key factor in the continued upgrading of China’s industries, he added.

“Therefore, I am for promoting AI literacy education included in the compulsory education system,” he said.

During primary and secondary schooling, students are at a critical period of cognitive development. They are most active and sensitive in their thinking and are most receptive to new things, Lei said.

From fundamental principles to practical applications, it is crucial to comprehensively ignite the interest of primary and secondary school students, cultivate their cognitive and applied abilities in AI, he noted. 

It is also recommended to strongly promote the establishment of AI-related majors in Chinese universities, Lei said.

Currently, 498 universities in China offer undergraduate programs in AI, and 209 universities have registered or applied for undergraduate programs in “Intelligent Science and Technology.” However, the numbers represent a relatively low proportion in the backdrop of more than 3,000 universities in China, Lei said.

He also suggested that large technology companies and educational institutions could help cultivate talent specializing in the practical application of AI.

In recent years, many enterprises have emerged as key drivers in the development of AI technology. These companies possess vast data and computing resources, as well as application scenarios. However, there is a severe shortage of high-level AI training capabilities in the talent market.

AI is one of the hot topics discussed by NPC deputies at this year’s two sessions which offers the world a window to observe the country’s development this year.

Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the second session of the 14th NPC, said at a press conference on Monday that legislation related to technological innovation will be advanced, with a particular emphasis on delving into crucial cutting-edge fields like AI and biotechnology. 

China’s AI industry is experiencing rapid growth, with the core industry reaching a scale of 500 billion yuan ($69.46 billion). The number of AI enterprises has exceeded 4,300, and innovative achievements continue to emerge, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The latest revision of the Law on Guarding State Secrets has unsurprisingly triggered a new round of Western media hype about concerns over China's investment environment, but such slander is just a distortion of the actual situation. 
China's efforts to improve its laws and regulations to safeguard national security will not be in conflict with its push to promote further opening-up, and an updated legal system could even play a more active role in providing a safer environment for foreign investment.

Chinese lawmakers on Tuesday voted to adopt a revised Law on Guarding State Secrets. A report by the Voice of America Chinese edition on Thursday said that the revision of China's Law on Guarding State Secrets will exacerbate a chilling effect, posing major operational challenges for foreign businesses in China, while The Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday that the revision has encompassed sensitive information that did not previously fall under its scope, which in turn "potentially adds to foreign businesses' concerns over the risks of operating in the country," and "adds a potentially broad new category of restricted information."

According to the National Administration of State Secrets Protection, the aim of the revision this time is to further strengthen the protection of state secrets so as to maximize the rational use of information sources and to better protect China's core interests and national security. 

But this does not mean that the law will interfere with normal business activities, nor does it mean that it will discriminate against or put new restrictions on foreign investment. As long as foreign businesses in China are operating normally according to law, there is no need for them to worry about triggering such restrictions. 

Any foreign business operating in China needs to abide by Chinese laws and regulations, including the Law on Guarding State Secrets. This is not an excessive request, but a basic principle that applies to any country. Only those with ulterior motives will be concerned about the potential impact, and they are the ones the revision is meant to deter from harming the interests of the country and its people.

The emergence of new technologies and applications such as big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence is accelerating a new technological revolution, creating high demand for laws to support China's independent innovation and development of relevant technologies. This is why the newly revised law has significantly increased technology-related content, adding several provisions that demonstrate a focus on protecting confidential technology innovation and technology security.

Against the background of some Western countries abusing national security excuses to impose unilateral sanctions on Chinese technology companies and suppress China's technological development, it is entirely justified for China to take appropriate measures to ensure its interests in scientific and technological development.

There is no contradiction between this reasonable demand and China's attitude of encouraging foreign investment. Anyone who has basic knowledge of China's opening-up policy would not believe Western media outlets' slander that claims Chinese policies are complicating its investment environment with additional legal risks.

When meeting with a US Chamber of Commerce delegation in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang made it clear that China will open its door even wider to the outside world, continue to foster a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment, and provide more support and convenience for US companies and those from other countries to invest and do business in China. 

China has been committed to expanding its opening-up to attract foreign investment in recent years, with its huge market and enormous potential luring an increasing number of foreign businesses to invest. 

During this process, China has also worked on improving relevant laws and regulations, with an eye to ensuring a safer and steady market environment. This is because an up-to-date legal system is part of the efforts to open its market further. These measures aimed at ensuring the fair operation of the investment environment are conducive to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign companies and providing a stable law-based business environment.

It's hoped that more foreign businesses will recognize and share the development opportunities of the Chinese market, rather than falling for groundless slander.

In recent years, the China Construction Bank has implemented the decisions and plans of the central government, continuously increasing the supply of financial services in the field of agriculture, rural areas and farmers, contributing to the rural revitalization with its financial strength.

In order to better address the contradiction between the supply and demand of rural finance, CCB has taken the lead in the industry to set up a rural revitalization finance department, viewing rural revitalization as a new core field. 

Focusing on the main position of rural workers, the bank has launched innovations in rural financial infrastructure, product structure, service mode, credit management process, risk control and other modules to realize the goal of universal benefits and activate rural resources to help farmers increase their income, so that finance can become an important force in the development of the agriculture, rural areas and farmers.

As of the end of December 2023, the balance of CCB's agriculture-related loans amounted to 3.82 trillion yuan, an increase of more than 800 billion yuan from the beginning of 2023, at a growth rate of 27 percent.

Process facilitation
"When I expanded my farmhouse, I spent more than 100,000 yuan. At that time, I got a loan from CCB with just a simple process on my mobile," said Sheng Hongqun, a villager of Hongda village of Ankang city, Northwest Shaanxi Province, who was very satisfied with the financial services provided by CCB.

"In addition to favorable interest rates, the bank provides convenient financial services. A lot of business can be solved at the touch of a finger. If it can't be address by cellphone, the business manager can provide door-to-door services," he noted.

The service offered by the CCB is one of the innovative products to break through the difficulties and blockages of financial services to the rural areas, and it is a key product of the CCB to serve farmers and promote rural revitalization.

The Cailiang community of Ankang has set up a financial service point with products from the CCB. In addition to basic financial services such as deposit and withdrawal, money transfer and remittance, the service point can also provide social security and medical insurance, agricultural subsidies, payment of living expenses and other livelihood services.

Improving financial literacy
In addition to weaving a network of financial services through its products, CCB is also committed to changing the financial concepts and awareness of farmers, proactively approaching farmers to enhance their financial literacy.

The CCB branch in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, together with local authorities, has explored a new way of financial service for rural revitalization - the "financial deputy village head" model.

That is to say, the local government appoints college students or village officials as "financial deputy village head" to interpret government policies to farmers and disseminate financial knowledge, in a bid to better help authorities with the governance of the financial and credit environment in villages, provide feedback on the financial needs of farmers and herdsmen, and construct a bridge for grass-roots finance.

The "financial deputy village head" is an innovative model that synchronizes the expansion of financial business with the development of rural talent. Through the organic interaction between capital, talent and industries, it provides multiple elemental support for the enhancement of sustainable capacity of the rural areas, and it is an effective and easy-to-replicate innovative model. 

So far, the model has gone out to North China's Hebei Province and East China's Shandong Province.

China has ramped up financial support for rural revitalization. According to financial service guidelines for rural revitalization released by the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, by 2035, the country will promote the establishment of a modern rural financial system that is multi-level, wide-coverage, sustainable, appropriately competitive, orderly and innovative, and with controlled risks.

China unveiled its "No.1 central document" for 2024 on February 3, outlining the priorities for comprehensively promoting rural revitalization this year. As the first policy statement released by China's central authorities each year, the document is seen as an indicator for current and future policy priorities.

On China's new journey in the new era, the focus should be on promoting rural revitalization across the board while carrying forward work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers, the document noted.

A people-centered development philosophy should be upheld to deliver tangible benefits to the people and to make substantial progress, according to the document.

Chinese observers on Sunday said that calls by a US manufacturing advocacy group - Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) - for the US to block imports of Chinese vehicles and parts from Mexico are intended to have a chilling effect, which will prevent US consumers from benefiting from affordable and high-quality products and are contrary to its principles of the market economy.  

The call came as Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD plans to establish a factory in Mexico targeting the US market, Reuters reported. 

If the US does impose such a ban, it would raise concerns of targeting Chinese businesses, which is contrary to the principle of the market economy and the non-intervention principle that the US champions, Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who closely follows China-US trade issues, told the Global Times on Sunday

Gao said that such protectionist measures would not address the underlying issues of competitiveness in the US auto industry, which stem from innovation, markets and shortages of talent.

The AAM report argues that the US should not allow vehicles and parts made in Mexico by companies based in China benefit from a North American free trade agreement. Vehicles and parts produced in Mexico can qualify for preferential treatment under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement as well as qualifying for a $7,500 EV tax credit.  

Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, highlighted the attractiveness of Mexico for investment and cooperation with China, particularly in the EV sector, thanks to its significant position in the global market, as well as its manufacturing base and openness to foreign investment.

Zhou underscored the potential for the strong development of Mexico's EV industry, represented by existing investment inflows from Chinese companies. 

In response to the AAM report, the Chinese Embassy in Washington defended the nation's automotive exports as a reflection of the Chinese manufacturing industry's high-quality development and strong innovation. The embassy argued that the leapfrog development of China's auto industry has provided cost-effective products with high quality to the world, according to the Reuters report.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, BYD outpaced Tesla to become the world's largest EV seller. Facing challenges posed by China's fast-growing EV industry, the Biden administration issued rules in December to cut subsidies for EVs, batteries and parts that contain sourcing materials from China, aiming to wean the US EV supply chain away from China.

In contrast to the challenges faced in the US, Chinese EVs are making new breakthroughs in the European market. The first batch of BYD ATTO 3 vehicles was delivered to Hungarian customers, witnessed by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu, according to BYD's official WeChat account on Saturday.

With increased market competition brought by Chinese EVs, better products and prices could be developed for European consumers. The entry of Chinese EVs is also expected to have a positive effect on the entire supply chain, bringing new technologies and fostering innovation, aiding Europe's transition to EVs, Zhou told the Global Times on Sunday

If the US government intervenes to block Chinese EVs from entering the market, it would deprive consumers of the benefits brought by technological advances and hinder the Biden administration's efforts to combat climate change, Zhou argued.

BYD has established three stores in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, and plans to continue expanding its sales and service network, expecting to double its stores in the country this year.

China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday slammed the European Commission's so-called economic security plan, which is reportedly aimed at China, saying that the move will only exacerbate global concerns over the EU's rising protectionism and unilateralism and further undermine Chinese and global businesses' confidence in the EU market.

China's main business group in the EU said the EU's plan could have profound implications for a wide range of areas, including investment, trade and technological cooperation. Such a move also shows that the EU is becoming increasingly aggressive and hostile in its "de-risking" strategy aimed at China, and that China needs to prepare a feasible plan to respond, experts noted.

The European Commission released the so-called European Economic Security Package on Wednesday, which calls for tighter scrutiny of foreign investment and more coordinated controls on exports and technological outflows. While the plans did not name any country, the EU had China in mind, Reuters reported, noting that the EU highlights "de-risking," the bloc's strategy of cutting economic reliance on China.

Commenting on the EU plans at a regular press briefing in Beijing, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that in recent years the international community has had many concerns regarding EU's protectionism and unilateralism in the economic and trade fields, noting the new move will exacerbate such concerns.

"Hopefully the EU will abide by the basic norms of the market economy such as free trade, fair competition, and open cooperation, abide by the rules of the WTO, and avoid the introduction of anti-globalization and pan-security policies and measures," Wang said, stressing that such a move would not only affect the EU's international image but also confidence of companies from China and other countries in the EU's business environment.

The EU's plans, which, according to Reuters, could take three years to enter force, have already sparked widespread concerns. China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU), which represents more than 1,000 Chinese enterprises in the EU, said that it closely monitors the ongoing development of the EU's economic security strategy and expresses concerns about the impact of the new plans on Chinese companies' investment, trade, and innovation collaboration within Europe.

"Of particular note, the package suggests enforceable rules to tighten FDI screening and introduces measures that might impact the EU's outbound investment, exports, and research collaborations, potentially influencing the confidence of Chinese businesses investing and operating in Europe," the group said in a statement sent to the Global Times.

The group said that its survey of Chinese firms showed that 52 percent were concerned about the negative impact of the EU's FDI screening mechanism, and 47 percent expressed concern about the possible effects of the "European Economic Security Strategy."

EU's woes

Fang Dongkui, secretary-general of the CCCEU, said that the package will still have to go through deliberation within the EU, but it has highlighted the EU's "inward-looking" trend amid sluggish economic recovery and growth in the Eurozone and the EU.

"The aim of these policies is to 'de-risk,' but 'de-risking' will result in increased costs, including business and compliance costs, and these costs will ultimately be passed on to consumers, with the EU public footing the bill," Fang told the Global Times on Thursday.

While the exact impact of the EU economic security package remains to be seen, the move will bring another round of test for China-EU ties, which have already been under increased pressure due to the EU's increasingly aggressive and hostile tone, experts noted.

"Although the EU publicly claims to be focusing on preventing or reducing risks, its policies have become tougher and more aggressive, especially against China," Cui Hongjian, a professor with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance with Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Cui said that China-EU relations were hoped to improve this year, but if the EU artificially set up barriers, it will be more difficult to improve China-EU cooperation in economy, trade and other fields.

China-EU ties have faced pressure after the EU launched the so-called anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, which has been criticized by Chinese officials as protectionism. Still, Chinese officials have stated that China is ready to provide an open, inclusive, transparent and non-discriminatory environment for EU and other international businesses.

Experts said that while China has been actively promoting win-win cooperation with the EU, Brussels has become increasingly protectionist and aggressive due to its own economic woes, as well as political and geopolitical factors.

"When some EU institutions and politicians are hyping 'security issues,' they also have their own political motives - that is to cater to populist politics within the bloc or to echo the US' rival strategy against China," Cui said, noting that the EU's "de-risking" or so-called "anti-coercion" strategies against China lack factual basis and are entirely based on speculation and imagination.

Going forward, China-EU relations need a rebalancing, in that stability should be maintained in the overall relationship, but China must also come up with practical responses to EU's aggression in some areas and specific issues, according to experts.

Chinese tourists are returning to the world, and the Spring Festival holidays are expected to see outbound travel peak, according to reports of Chinese online travel platforms Qunar, Tongcheng Travel and Trip.com.

According to a report sent by Qunar to the Global Times on Tuesday, overseas hotel bookings through the platform for the upcoming holidays have continued to rise since January, and nearly 80 percent of tourists who are scheduled to stay in Southeast Asia during the period have booked high-end and luxury resort hotels.

Visa-free policies for Chinese travelers, convenient transportation, increased flight routes, abundant tourism resources, and relatively low travel costs have made Southeast Asian countries hot destinations for Chinese tourists, it said.

Northern European countries, which offer winter-themed activities such as aurora hunting and winter sports, have also attracted more Chinese tourists after the winter tourism boom of Harbin in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, with the local hotel search volume increasing twofold month-on-month.

Meanwhile, a recent survey conducted by another online travel agency Tongcheng Travel   showed that more than 60 percent of respondents say they plan to take a few cross-border trips in 2024, and it also said that the outbound tourism market will witness a rapid recovery due to the improved productivity and increasing confidence in consumption.

Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions are among the most popular overseas destinations for travelers from Chinese mainland, according to the Qunar. 

Some destination countries are competing for Chinese tourists and anticipate an unprecedented resurgence in tourists. For example, after Martin Niederger, director of the Swiss Tourism Bureau said in Chinese that Switzerland applied to join Harbin's cultural tourism competition, the flight search volume for Zurich doubled compared to the previous period. 

In addition, the Qatar tourism authority said they are looking forward to meeting Chinese tourists during the Spring Festival holidays, and welcome them to see giant pandas, and Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown has arranged lion and dragon dances for Chinese guests.

While millions of Chinese have decided to embark on journeys to explore the world and the traveling spree during this period is expected to drive a global tourism boom, some Western media have claimed that "the Chinese pullback has erased $129 billion from global tourism," citing figures from international aviation analytics firm Cirium and hyped a much slower recovery of outbound airline capacity from China has disappointed airline executives, tourism officials and luxury store owners.

In a recent report, Bloomberg said that Chinese travelers, once the world's biggest spenders on overseas trips, have been staying close to home since the country lifted its pandemic border restrictions a year ago.

However, surge in air tickets and hotel searches and bookings and the enthusiastic expectations have refuted such claims.

It is said that flight routes to Europe have recovered to 90 percent of 2019 levels. The number of hotel searches for four Nordic countries--Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden has doubled month-on-month, and outbound travel destinations have expanded to 100 cities in Europe.

Search volume on Tongcheng Travel for international air tickets between February 8 and 17 increased by seven times year-on-year, consultation volume for outbound group tour products has also exceeded that of 2019. 

Meanwhile, China's simplification of visa application process and unilateral visa-free policies for foreign travelers also have given an important boost to inbound and outbound travels. Countries having implemented visa-free policies for Chinese travelers including Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have seen a significant increase in tourism popularity during the period.

Trip.com told the Global Times on Tuesday that as of January 13, the company's outbound and inbound travel orders have increased significantly by more than 10 times compared to the same period last year

Data from Qunar showed that nearly 80 percent of the tourists who traveled to these three countries have already booked high-end or luxury hotels before the Spring Festival break. One tourist booked a luxury hotel in Phuket, Thailand for a duration of 21 days on the Qunar platform.

China's securities regulator said on Wednesday that it will put investor interest first and foremost in equity market system design and regulation enforcement, and will continue to improve investor protection mechanism in a bid to build an open and fair market and legal environment that ensures fairness and transparency.

Wang Jianjun, vice chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), made the remarks after A-share indexes slumped to their three-year lows.

Following the official's comment, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index reversed decline on Wednesday to rally above the psychologically important 2,800-point mark as of 2:30 pm, up 1.26 percent. The Shenzhen Component Index rose by 0.31 percent to 8,623.02 at the same time.

Wang said the regulator shares "sincere empathy" with investors, as a volatile market has caused deep concerns among investors.

"We know very well that only when investors have a material sense of gain can the capital market has solid fundamentals for stable and healthy development, which would stabilize the market and investors' confidence," the official said in an article published on the CSRC website.

Wang said the commission is implementing a series of measures enacted at a recent State Council meeting to ensure the healthy and stable development of the capital market.

A meeting of the State Council, the cabinet, held on Monday pledged "stronger, more effective measures" to stabilize the market and improve investor confidence.

Wang said about 220 million individual investors have placed money in China's stock market, and they are "heroes" to the country's capital market development. "It's our huge responsibility to protect such a large number of investors," said the official, acknowledging the gap between the commission's efforts and investor expectations.

"We will make more efforts to put investor interest first. Only by offering sound protection to investors can the capital market has a root for prosperity. We will embed this idea into the whole process of market system design and regulation enforcement," Wang said.

Regarding specific measures, Wang said the authorities will strive to greatly improve the quality of listed companies, leverage the role of securities and fund firms, and improve basic institutional arrangements.

Pointing out that some listed companies lack integrity, with occasional incidents of infringing on the interests of investors that severely affects investors' confidence, Wang said the commission will ramp up supervision, especially targeting listed companies.

"By protecting investors and earnestly increasing their sense of gain, the Chinese stock market will leave behind the short-term volatility and return to a healthy and stable development track," Wang said.

"We firmly believe the prospect of the Chinese economy and Chinese stock market is bright," he said.

The long-term trajectory of China’s development remains promising. Betting against China has never succeeded in the past, and will not succeed in the future, China's Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang said recently in a keynote speech delivered at the Asia House Annual Outlook 2024 Launch in London.

On China’s economy, Zheng said that the year 2023 saw China continue to be a key engine for the world economy. Despite various challenges, China’s GDP grew by 5.2 percent year-on-year, ranking among the fastest of the world's major economies, according to a statement released by the Chinese Embassy in the UK on Wednesday.

Internal drivers were stronger, and domestic demand contributed more than 110 percent to growth. Even with weak external demand, China’s total import and export of goods rose by 0.2 percent. In the first 11 months of last year, the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises in China grew by over 36 percent year-on-year.

And, China’s economy has become more digitalized and greener, Zheng noted.

Investment in high-tech industries expanded by 10.3 percent, and foreign demand for “the new three,” namely, new-energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products grew rapidly, and their exports exceeded 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion) for the first time. China's contribution to global economic growth once again exceeded 30 percent.

Zheng emphasized that all these conveyed a clear message to the world that betting against China has never succeeded in the past, and will not succeed in the future.

In 2023, China's annual GDP reached 126.06 trillion yuan, registering a 5.2 percent growth compared to the previous year. Facing global headwinds, the country’s economy demonstrated resilience and rising momentum, achieving a new milestone in overall economic development.

Certain foreign media outlets have attempted to paint a negative picture of the Chinese economy, claiming that it is “in serious trouble.” Facts speak louder than words, and these compelling economic data highlighted the strong internal dynamics of the world's second-largest economy.

On the path of China’s development, Zheng pointed out that there will still be headwinds in 2024, but the long-term trajectory of China’s development remains positive.

China’s confidence comes from at least five areas, Zheng said. “First, China’s strong political leadership and the consistency of major policies; second, the demand generated by a supersize market of more than 1.4 billion people, in particular, a middle income group that is 400 million strong; third, the supply supported by a fully-fledged industrial system.”

And, China is the only country with industrial lines across all categories in the UN industrial classification; fourth, abundant talent, capital, and data resources; and fifth, innovation underpinned by the rapid development of high-tech industries. China is now home to about 400,000 high-tech enterprises, and the number of unicorn companies in the country ranks second globally, Zheng said.

Citing Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s recent speech at Davos 2024, Zheng stressed that China is firmly committed to high-standard opening up.

As a major trading partner of over 140 countries and regions, China has cut its overall tariff level to 7.3 percent. In the recent five years, the return rate of foreign direct investment in China has been around 9 percent, which is quite competitive globally.

In the following five years, China is forecasted to import $17 trillion worth of goods and services. The country will continue to foster a market-oriented, law-based and world-class business environment. “The door will open even wider to the world, and businesses from all countries including the UK, are welcome to expand cooperation in Chinese market,” Zheng said.

A Chinese research team proposed a new quantum e-commerce strategy, presenting a promising solution for providing information-theoretic security for e-commerce. 

The technology could integrate quantum technology with e-commerce and is expected to introduce new transaction and security measures to the country's e-commerce, valued at 40 trillion yuan ($5.56 trillion) in China.

"This is the first time in the world that a quantum solution for e-commerce has been proposed, demonstrating unconditional security in e-commerce trading," Yin Hualei, associate professor from Renmin University of China, told Global Times on Wednesday.

Classical encryption algorithms rely on computational complexity, which are vulnerable to hackers. However, quantum cryptography provides enhanced security based on quantum mechanics, making it immune to attacks, said Yin.

Researchers from Nanjing University and Renmin University of China, led by professor Chen Zengbing and Yin Hualei, utilized quantum digital signatures as a foundational technology. They constructed a secure quantum e-commerce protocol that generates correlated bit strings among remote parties for signatures via quantum law.

Their research, which was published on Saturday in the journal 'Science Advances', enabled the world's first five-user online trading in an experiment, provided a potentially ideal approach to address all elements of information security and achieve unconditional security for digital payments.

The technology achieved breakthroughs in authenticity, integrity, and non-repudiation, providing a tool that simultaneously addresses the three aspects of information security. It is expected to be applied in new-generation technology scenarios such as digital currencies, e-government, and blockchain, ensuring high-speed, secure, and sustainable development of the digital economy, Yin said.

Authenticity, integrity, and non-repudiation correspond to three major cryptographic requirements, which cannot be directly achieved by sharing the same key between users through quantum key distribution (QKD). The new technology uses quantum signatures to achieve the requirements through the one-way characteristics of universal hashing, the asymmetric characteristics of secret sharing, and privacy features of quantum, Yin said.

E-commerce is rapidly evolving in China, as the country's total e-commerce transactions had increased from 31.63 trillion yuan in 2018 to 43.83 trillion yuan in 2022, according to the Ministry of Commerce. 

The quantum solution is expected to provide a more reliable and feasible quantum encryption method for the extensive market, ensuring transaction security in the face of potential quantum computing hacks.

Several commercial entities have used quantum encryption methods on smart devices. For instance, SK Telecom, a South Korean telecom service provider, had developed smartphone Galaxy Quantum series with quantum encryption technology in collaboration with Samsung. Previously, the company announced that it had successfully applied QKD on IP devices and completed the development of a quantum virtual private network technology.