China’s New Odyssey to Sound Growth

In late October 2022, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China concluded with a new leadership and a package of ambitious goals. China’s GDP per capita should reach the level of a moderately developed country to realize modernization by 2035. Quality development is primary to secure growth, jobs and balance of international payments. With China’s critical supply chain in the international market being challenged, its roles in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade deal and the Belt and Road Initiative should be reinforced. The Covid-19 pandemic, the US Federal Reserve’s interest hike, the strength of the dollar on the foreign currency market and the Russia-Ukraine war should compel China to create a unified domestic market to boost both domestic and international economic flows. Experts argued that it is most important to keep the economy running within “a reasonable range” in the next five years to avert financial risks and the middle-income trap, and that the country’s doors will continue to open ever wider to foreign trade and investment.