China is capable of achieving the major economic targets for 2018 and the influence of China-U.S. trade friction on the Chinese economy is controllable, Ning Jizhe, deputy head of China's National Development and Reform Commission, the country's economic planner, said on Monday.
"China's economy was highly integrated into the world economy during the past 40 years of reform and opening-up, so it's inevitable that trade rows would have some impact and lead to fluctuations of certain indexes. But that won't change the Chinese economy's momentum of steady growth, with stability ensured," Ning said.
The four readings that international society uses to gauge a country's economic performance could provide evidence on China's economy.
For example, China's economy grew 6.8 percent in the first half year of 2018, and has maintained a robust growth rate between 6.7 percent and 6.9 percent for consecutive 12 quarters.
In August, China's unemployment rate was also at a relatively low level of 5 percent, with the consumer price index up around 2 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, the country's foreign exchange reserves stood at above $3 trillion, Ning said.
Trade friction would have direct and indirect impact on Chinese economic performance both in the long term and short term, Ning said. But he stressed that overall the influence is controllable as China's economy is resilient and tenacious and Chinese policymakers have measures and experience in dealing with such risks.
The impact of trade rows on prices is also limited because China is home to the world's largest and most complete industries, with an abundant supply of agricultural and industrial products, Ning stressed. "It's hard to see an overall price surge in the wake of fluctuations in prices of certain products," Ning said.
Although domestic companies' orders may shrink due to tariffs, resulting in rising unemployment, China is coming up with policies that are conducive to innovation and job creation and this could offset the negative impact of trade rows, he noted.
