By Chang Hua Chinese Ambassador to Iran
In 2021, faced with complex domestic and international landscapes and various risks and challenges, China sustained a continuous and steady growth of the national economy, maintained a leading position in economic development and epidemic prevention and control in the world, with major indicators reaching expected targets, new strides made in building a new development pattern, and new achievements secured in high-quality development. The achievements were mainly on the six following aspects.
First, China's economic growth has been in the lead worldwide, with notably increased economic strength. China's economic growth rate ranked among the top in major economies worldwide, with the GDP of 2021 growing by 8.1% year-on-year. Its GDP reached 114.4 trillion yuan, which equals US$17.7 trillion at the yearly average exchange rate, ranked second globally and was estimated to account for more than 18% of the global economy. The per capita GDP was 80, 976 yuan, amounting to US$12, 551 at the yearly average exchange rate. At the end of 2021, China's foreign exchange reserves stood at more than US$3.2 trillion, the largest in the world.
Second, the national economy has continued to recover, meeting all major projected goals. In 2021, the GDP growth rate was higher than the projected target of 6%, which demonstrated stable economic performance. Employment was stable too. In 2021, 12.69 million new jobs in urban areas were created, meeting the expected target of more than 11 million. The surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.1%, lower than the target of around 5.5%. The consumption price rose mildly. The CPI in 2021 increased by 0.9% year-on-year, lower than the target of around 3%. The growth of resident income was basically in line with the economic expansion. The per capita disposable income of Chinese citizens rose 8.1% from the previous year, meeting the target of scoring a steady increase in personal income. The grain output reached a record high. Last year's total grain output was 680 million tons, remaining above 650 million tons for seven consecutive years.
Third, the innovation momentum has been intensified with the rapid growth of the industrial manufacturing industry. In 2021, the national spending on R&D increased by 14.2%, 4 percentage points higher than the growth rate last year. The spending on R&D accounted for 2.44% of the GDP, 0.03 percentage points up than last year. The total value-added by industrial enterprises rose by 9.6%, 1.5 percentage points higher than the growth rate of GDP.
Fourth, foreign trade and investment have grown rapidly, and opening up has been continuously expanded. In 2021, China's total goods imports and exports expanded 21.4% year-on-year to 39.1 trillion yuan. The surplus of the imports and exports of goods expanded 20.4% year-on-year and total export volume and international market share reached a record high, achieving steady increases in both the volume and quality of imports and exports. The imports and exports of general trade made up 61.6% of the total trade volume, up by 1.6 percentage points year-on-year. Trade in services has continued to recover. From January to November 2021, the total trade in services increased by 14.7% year-on-year, with services exports up by 31.5%. The investment attracted set a new record. The actual utilized foreign capital in 2021 was 1.15 trillion yuan, up by 14.9%.
Fifth, the reform on the economic system has continued to deepen, further unleashing development vitality. At the end of 2021, the total number of market entities in China exceeded 150 million. Among the industries above designated size in 2021, value-added by enterprises with state-held controlling stakes, corporate enterprises, private enterprises, and foreign, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan invested enterprises increased by 8.0%, 9.8%, 10.2%, and 8.9% respectively. Rapid growth has been made in new industries, new business forms, and new models. In 2021, the value-added by high-tech manufacturing enterprises above designated size increased by 18.2% year-on-year, 8.6 percentage points higher than that of the industries above designated size. The online retail sales of physical goods increased by 12%, accounting for 24.5% of the total retail sales of consumer goods.
Sixth, efforts to ensure people's livelihoods have been firm and effective, increasing people's sense of fulfillment. In 2021, Chinese citizens' net income from wages and salaries, net business income, and net property income grew by 9.6%, 11.0%, and 10.2%, respectively. As a result, the urban-rural income gap has been narrowed. The production and sales of basic consumption goods in 2021 have seen steady growth. The value-added by the consumer goods manufacturing industry above designated size increased by 9.8% year-on-year. The investment to improve living standards has expanded. The investment in social sectors increased by 10.7% year-on-year. Specifically, education and public health investment grew by 11.7% and 24.5% respectively.
The world has seen an unusual year of 2021, and also witnessed the miracle of China's economic growth in 2021. Chinese economy has been serving as the bedrock and stabilizer of world economic recovery and stability. China has also become the mainstays for the global fight against the epidemic and the promotion of multi-polar development. In the upcoming year of 2022, the stable growth momentum of Chinese economy will remain unchanged and the level of opening up will be higher.
Not long ago, during his visit to China, Iranian Foreign Minister His Excellency Mr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi jointly announced the launch of the implementation of the Comprehensive Cooperation Plan. In the future, the practical cooperation between the two countries in various fields will be further expanded and the level of cooperation will be further lifted. China is ready to work with Iran to advance high-quality "Belt and Road" cooperation, strive for more early harvests, and to better benefit our two peoples.