On November 16, 2022, Chinese ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran Chang Hua published a signed article "China’s Economy Showed Sound Momentum of Recovery in the Third Quarter" in Iran's Tehran Times . The full text is as follows:
China's National Bureau of Statistics recently released data showing that in the third quarter of 2022, China's economy grew by 3.9% year-on-year, and the national economy continued to recover under pressure, injecting confidence into the global economic recovery. China's economic development has attracted worldwide attention, and many Iranian media and people are also very concerned. I would like to share some views on the highlights and characteristics of the economic situation in the third quarter:
First, the economic growth rate has stabilized and picked up. Although the Chinese economy has fluctuated from month to month since the beginning of this year, it has generally continued to recover and develop. In the third quarter, GDP increased by 3.9% year-on-year, 3.5 percentage points faster than that in the second quarter, and increased by 3.9% quarter-on-quarter. China's economy has overcome the adverse effects of multiple unexpected shocks, and its main indicators have returned to stability and remained within a reasonable range. Positive factors have accumulated and increased, and the stamina for economic recovery and development has increased.
Second, consumer prices continued to be in a moderately rising range. With the support of the policy of stabilizing growth and promoting consumption, the overall recovery of consumer demand continued, and its fundamental role in economic development was gradually consolidated. The market has achieved remarkable results in ensuring supply and stabilizing prices. In the third quarter, the CPI rose by 2.6% year-on-year. In the first three quarters, the CPI rose by 2%, which is in sharp contrast with the high inflation in the United States and Europe ,etc.
Third, employment is generally stable. Policies to aid enterprises to stabilize jobs and employment assistance policy continued to exert force. The national urban surveyed unemployment rate averaged 5.4% in the third quarter, down 0.4 percentage points from the second quarter. The employment situation in the third quarter was better than that in the first and second quarters. In September, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas nationwide was 5.5%, and the surveyed unemployment rates for the population aged 16-24 and the population aged 25-59 were 17.9% and 4.7% respectively.
Fourth, the reform and opening up continued to deepen. Deepen the reform of "delegation, regulation and service" and reducing institutional transaction costs. From January to August, 19.421 million new market entities were established, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%. Actively support the development of new forms of foreign trade and new models. In the third quarter, the import and export of trade in goods increased by 11% year-on-year, 3.2 percentage points faster than that in the second quarter. Foreign trade showed strong development resilience, making positive contributions to stabilizing the macroeconomic market.
Fifth, investment has been rising steadily. Policy-based development financial instruments were set up to support the construction of major projects, special re-loans and fiscal discounts were used to support the upgrading of equipment in some areas, and innovative methods were used to actively expand effective investment. In the first three quarters, while investment in real estate development dropped by 8%, investment in fixed assets still increased by 5.9% year-on-year, of which investment in infrastructure and manufacturing increased by 8.6% and 10.1% respectively.
Sixth, the guarantee of people's livelihood is strong and effective. China has been making unremitting efforts to prevent and control the epidemic, continued to implement the expansion policy of unemployment insurance coverage, adjusted the price subsidy linkage mechanism in stages, increased the price subsidy, and provided one-time living subsidies and temporary assistance to people in need such as subsistence allowances. From January to August, investment in the social sector increased by 14.1% year-on-year.
Seventh, grain production is expected to have another bumper harvest. In the first three quarters, the added value of agriculture (planting) increased by 3.8% year-on-year. The total yield of summer grain and upland rice has increased by 3.08 billion catties compared with the previous year. The sown area of autumn grain has increased steadily, and the harvest is progressing smoothly. It is expected that the annual grain output will continue to remain above 1.3 trillion catties.
Today's China is full of potential for economic development. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held not long ago made a strategic plan for building a modern socialist country in an all-round way and promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in an all-round way. Since the beginning of this year, China's economic development has experienced a very unusual process, and the economic operation once faced downward pressure that exceeded expectations. We timely and decisively introduced a package of policies and follow-up measures to stabilize the economy. The macro policies are both powerful and effective, and reasonable and appropriate, without overdrafting the future. We strive to ensure stable employment and prices for market players, and keep the economy operating within a reasonable range. We will continue to vigorously promote the steady, healthy and sustainable development of the economy. Today's world is in an era full of challenges and hope. In the face of the turbulent international situation and the difficult economic situation, we must continue to adhere to the correct direction of multilateralism and economic globalization, and strengthen the alignment of development strategies. China adheres to the basic national policy of opening up, and the door to opening up will only become wider and wider. It will continue to enhance the linkage effect between domestic and international markets and resources, continue to provide new opportunities for the world with China's new development, and promote the building of an open world economy.
Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized at the opening ceremony of the 5th China International Import Expo that the path is unfolding before us, and a brighter future beckons beyond. The road ahead may not be smooth sailing, but there is no mountain higher than people, and there is no road longer than feet. China is ready to work with all countries , including Iran, to practice true multilateralism, build more consensus for openness, jointly overcome the difficulties and challenges confronting global economic growth, and make sure that our commitment to openness will bring about broad prospects for global development.