(Major achievements in economic development)

In 2020, China's GDP grew 2.3 percent year on year to top 100 trillion yuan, making it the only major economy in the world to achieve positive growth. The spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore is to give an introduction on China's 2020 economic performance based on the economic data:

First, China achieved better-than-expected results regarding its major economic targets. 11.86 million jobs in urban areas were created in 2020, exceeding its annual goal of 9 million. The surveyed unemployment rate in China's urban areas stood at 5.6 percent, below the government's annual target of around 6 percent. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.5 percent year on year in 2020, staying within the target of around 3.5 percent. In 2020, China's per capita disposable income rose 2.1 percent in real terms, roughly keeping pace with the economic growth. With an improved balance of payments position, China had its foreign exchange reserves expand to US$3.2165 trillion at the end of December, up by US$108.6 billion year on year. China lowered energy consumption per unit of GDP by 0.1 percent in 2020, compared with the previous year.

Second, China achieved decisive success in eradicating extreme poverty. All 5.51 million rural poor people were lifted out of poverty, and all 52 poor counties left poverty behind. Rural residents in poverty-stricken areas had their income grow at a faster rate. In 2020, the nominal growth rate of per capita disposable income of rural residents in Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Gansu, Ningxia, and Xinjiang was 0.2-1.7 percentage points higher than that of rural residents in the whole country.

Third, people's basic livelihood is guaranteed. China ensured ample supplies in markets and kept prices stable even at the worst time of the epidemic. Nearly 300 million people in China live on pensions, and China ensured that they receive their benefits on time and in full despite the difficulties caused by the epidemic.

Fourth, China achieved important breakthroughs in opening up. China is the only major economy in the world to achieve positive growth in trade in goods, with a total import and export volume of 32.1557 trillion yuan, 1.9 percent higher than that of 2019. Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 6.2 percent year on year to a record high of 999.98 billion yuan (US$144.37 billion) in 2020. China's outbound direct investment in 2020 totaled US$132.94 billion, an increase of 3.3 percent year on year. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the largest free trade pact in the world, was successfully signed. China and the European Union (EU) concluded their investment agreement negotiations as scheduled.