CHINA accounted for over 18% of the global economy in 2021, rising from 11.4% in 2012, an official said Thursday at a press conference in Beijing.

China has both cemented and improved its status as the world’s second-largest economy over the past decade, said Han Wenxiu, a senior official with the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs.

The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) topped 114 trillion yuan (US$16.94 trillion) in 2021, and per capita GDP reached US$12,500, close to the threshold for high-income economies, Han said.

The contribution of China’s economic growth to the world economy has stood at around 30% in recent years, making it the largest growth engine for the global economy, Han added.

Over the past decade, the share of the country’s goods exports in the international market has risen from 11% to 15%, and the number of free trade agreements signed has increased from 10 to 19.

The country has also constructed 21 pilot free trade zones and the Hainan Free Trade Port to achieve comprehensive and high-level opening up.

China will not hesitate to introduce new policies to prop up growth, Han said.

China aims to implement existing policies in the first half of the year and is ready to take new steps when the need arises, Han said.

“We will waste no time in planning and rolling out incremental policies. There is sufficient room for fiscal, monetary policy and other policies, and we have various policy tools,” Han said.

“We will step up policy adjustments, we will take actions when necessary,” He said without giving details.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will step up financial support for the real economy, including lowering financing costs, Chen Yulu, deputy governor of the central bank, said at the same press conference.

“The PBOC will make stabilizing growth a more prominent priority, strengthen cross-cyclical policy adjustment, and accelerate to implement policy measures already announced, especially to actively plan new policy tools,” said Chen.

(SD-Xinhua)