Beijing: China has registered rapid economic growth over the past 75 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, with significant increases in national economic strength and per capita GDP, according to a report released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The report noted that China’s GDP has risen from 67.9 billion yuan (approximately US$9.5 billion) in 1952 to over 126 trillion yuan (US$17.7 trillion) in 2023, positioning China as the world’s second-largest economy, China Central Television (CCTV) reported, citing the NBS report.

Computed by constant prices, China’s GDP in 2023 was 223 times that of 1952, with an average annual growth rate of 7.9 percent. The average annual growth rate from 1979 to 2023 was 8.9 percent, much higher than the 3 percent average growth rate of the world economy during the same period.

China’s per capita GDP has leaped 89 times from 1952, with an average annual growth rate of 6.5 percent, the report said.

The per capita GDP in 20
23 was 89,358 yuan, or $12,681 at the average annual exchange rate, surpassing the $12,000 mark for the third consecutive year, demonstrating a steady growth in output by population.

According to data and classification criteria of the World Bank, China’s per capita gross national income (GNI) reached $13,400 in 2023, which indicates that China has risen from a low-income country in 1949 to an upper-middle-income country.

In the early years of the PRC’s founding, the country’s total economic output accounted for a very small proportion of the world’s total, only 1.7 percent in 1978, ranking 10th in the world.

Since China adopted the policy of economic reform and opening up in 1978, it has witnessed continuous rapid growth. Its average annual contribution rate to the world’s economic growth reached 24.8 percent from 1979 to 2023, ranking the first globally.

Over the past 75 years, China has become the world’s largest manufacturing power, the largest trader of goods, the second-largest consumer of goods and
the largest holder of foreign exchange reserves.

China has also achieved a magnificent turn from the edge of the world system to the centre of the world stage, becoming an important participant, builder and contributor to the international system, the report added.

Source: Emirates News Agency