CHINA - Leading Growth Despite Covid-19
Globally, there have been over 641 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6.62 million deaths, reported to the World Health Organization, while the incidence rate and the death toll of COVID-19 in China have been the lowest among major countries.
Its GDP crossed the 100-trillion-yuan (about $14.37 trillion) threshold in 2020 and further expanded to over 114 trillion yuan in 2021, contributing over 30 percent to world economic growth.
The past three years were unusual and extraordinary for China as it has withstood multiple tests. However, China has historically eradicated absolute poverty, significantly expanded the size of the middle-income group, completed the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and embarked on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects.
As the world’s manufacturing powerhouse, China boasts the world’s biggest and most complete industrial system, making it a key contributor to global industrial chains.
In 2020, China’s export of medical supplies maintained steady and orderly growth, offering stronger support to the global society in fighting the COVID-19 epidemic. Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturing’s added value accounted for 28.5 percent of the global total.
Meanwhile, China’s determination to open up further to the outside world remains unwavering, providing enormous opportunities for the rest of the world.
In the first 11 months of this year, China’s trade in goods expanded 8.6 percent year on year to 38.34 trillion yuan, according to the General Administration of Customs.
The country has also continued widening market access and shortening the negative list for foreign investment. It has put into force the Foreign Investment Law, which took effect on the first day of 2020, to protect foreign investors’ legitimate rights and interests.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that they had forecast 3.2 percent growth in China’s economy in 2022, improving to 4.4 percent in 2023.
-www.chinadaily.com.cn, 11 December 2022
Arno's Commentary
When reading Western-based media, the reports and analysis about China are mostly negative. Why? Because it’s a communist-governed nation and a rapidly growing competitor to the capitalist West.
For the past seven plus decades, Soviet communism was the challenge for the Western, democratic world. After about 70 years, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) imploded in 1991. China did not, but virtually exploded economically. When we ask why, the answer is relatively simple: China observed both the errors of Western capitalism and the fall of Soviet communism. The lesson gained was simple: learn from others and adapt to change. Based on various other sources analyzing China, the country has definitely become the leading global growth engine of the world economy. It is no longer a question of if, but when China will overtake the US as the world’s largest economy.
What is the good news about communist China? According to CFR.org, 7.4% of the population practices the Christian religion (2020), surpassing atheists (6.8%). While there are no 100% reliable statistics available, evidence from of a number of organizations shows the growth of Christianity in this communist nation. That is our concern as Christians: borders, languages, or political convictions cannot hinder in any way, shape, or form the promise Jesus made while in Israel: “I will build my church.”
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
