Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday that China's economy remains a source of the world's growth thanks to people's zest for innovation, entrepreneurship and stronger international cooperation.[Special coverage]
China's confidence is well-grounded and not "blind optimism," the premier said in a speech at the World Economic Forum's event in northeast China's Dalian, known as Summer Davos.
The stable and sustainable development of China, a hard-achieved feat, benefits the people and means business opportunities for the world, Li said.
A BIG CONTRIBUTOR
China contributed roughly 30 percent to world economic growth during the first half of this year, Li said. "China is the source of global growth, rather than risks."
Despite enormous headwinds, the government is determined to pull off a managed slowdown in its quest for more sustainable growth led by consumer spending and innovation rather than investment and credit expansion.
Though China's headline growth rates of 7.3 percent last year and 7 percent in the first half of this year are a far cry from the double-digit growth seen in previous decades, China has still managed to keep the world economy afloat.
Li said that a 7-percent rise is not an easy achievement in a slowing world economy. The rate is among the highest in major economies.
Li also noted the central government's fiscal deficit, set at 1.12 trillion yuan, is low compared with other major world economies and there is great potential in the country's financial markets.
"China still has a lot of tools to use in its innovative macro-economic adjustment policies and will continue to roll out targeted measures to counter downward pressure," Li said.
A more encouraging sign, according to Li, is that China's economy is more oriented toward consumption, which accounts for half of China's economic output and 60 percent of growth.
As the Chinese become affluent, their "itchy feet" have taken them all over the world. Last year, more than 100 million people traveled abroad and the number of visitors rose 10 percent in the first six months of this year. And wherever the Chinese go, they shop.
Airbnb, the fast-growing housing rental service, aims to make deeper inroads into China, a market the company that has the highest expectation for future growth, Nathan Blecharczyk, co-founder and CTO of Airbnb, told Xinhua during the forum.
Last year, the number of Chinese travelers using airbnb grew 700 percent, faster than any other country.
Chinese smartphone users, nearly 500 million of them, are using their phones to do everything from shopping to hailing taxis and ordering takeouts in a trend launched by internet giants Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu to deliver better services through mobile internet.
