*China"seconomygrew3percentyearonyeartoarecordhighof121.0207trillionyuan(about18trillionU.S.dollars)in2022.Comparedwithmajoreconomiesacrosstheworld,thegrowthrateisrelativelyfast.*TheeconomyisboundtorecoverasthefundamentalsoftheChineseeconomy--itsstrongresilience,enormouspotential,greatvitalityandlong-termsustainability--remainunchanged.*Shoringupconfidenceiscrucialforeconomicrecovery.In2023,theworseningglobaleconomicsituationneedsChina"ssteadygrowthasastabilizer.

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BEIJING,Jan.17(Xinhua)--China"seconomypostedsteadygrowthin2022despitepressuresincludingepidemicresurgencesandacomplicatedexternalenvironment,withitsgrossdomesticproduct(GDP)reachinganewlevel.

Theeconomygrew3percentyearonyeartoarecordhighof121.0207trillionyuan(about18trillionU.S.dollars)in2022,datafromtheNationalBureauofStatistics(NBS)showedTuesday.

Thismarksanewandhigherlevelintermsofeconomicaggregate,aftertheChineseeconomytoppedthethresholdsof100trillionyuanand110trillionyuanin2020and2021,respectively--maintainingitspositionwellastheworld"ssecond-largesteconomy,KangYi,headoftheNBS,toldapressconference.

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Butthisis"stillasmallstepforward,"Kangsaid.ThecountryneedstomorethandoublethecurrentpercapitaGDPofabout12,700U.S.dollarstoreachitsgoalthatitspercapitaGDPwillbeonparwiththatofmid-leveldevelopedcountriesin2035.

Comparedwithmajoreconomiesacrosstheworld,however,the3-percentgrowthrateisrelativelyfast,hesaid,attributingtheeconomy"sreboundfromstronger-than-expectedshockstothetimelysupportofpro-growthpolicies.

OVERCOMINGCHALLENGES

WhenaskedtocommentontheoverallperformanceoftheChineseeconomyin2022,DominikPeschel,headoftheEconomicsUnitoftheAsianDevelopmentBankResidentMissioninChina,notedseveralheadwindsthecountryhadtodealwith,includingCOVID-19,apropertymarketdownturnandsofteningexportgrowth.

Tostabilizeeconomicgrowth,theChinesegovernmentmobilizedadditionalfundsforinfrastructureinvestmentandgraduallyloosenedmonetarypolicy.Infrastructureinvestmentsupportedeconomicgrowth,asdidsolidgrowthinmanufacturinginvestment.Asaresult,industrygrewfasterthanservices,whilehouseholdconsumptionwasweak,henoted.

Inbreakdown,China"sindustrialoutputwentup3.6percentyearonyearin2022,whilefixed-assetinvestmentrose5.1percentyearonyear.

Retailsalescontracted0.2percentyearonyearin2022.Atotalof12.06millionnewurbanjobswerecreatedlastyear,exceedingtheannualtargetof11million.

TheChinesepeoplebecamemoreaffluentin2022,withpercapitadisposableincomereaching36,883yuan,up5percentyearonyearinnominalterms.

China"sconsumerpricespostedamildgrowthof2percentin2022,insharpcontrasttotheglobalspike.

Sofar,Chinahasbuilttheworld"slargestandmosttechnologicallyadvancednetworkinfrastructure,andtheindustrialInternethasbeenwidelyintegratedinto45nationaleconomiccategories.

ZhangYansheng,chiefresearcherattheChinaCenterforInternationalEconomicExchanges,saidthatinnovationhasbeenabrightspotinChina"seconomyinrecentyears,despiteheadwindsduetoCOVID-19.Newenergyanddigitalindustrieshavehelpedstabilizeoveralleconomicdevelopment.

"Thenationaleconomycontinuedtodevelopdespitedownwardpressure,economicoutputreachedahigherlevel,employmentlevelsandpricesweregenerallystable,people"sliveshadbeencontinuouslyimproved,newachievementsweresecuredinhigh-qualitydevelopment,whileoveralleconomicandsocialdevelopmentwasstableandhealthy,"saidKang.

HOPESAHEAD

WhenaskedaboutChina"seconomicoutlookin2023,KangsaidtheeconomyisboundtorecoverasthefundamentalsoftheChineseeconomy--itsstrongresilience,enormouspotential,greatvitalityandlong-termsustainability--remainedunchanged.

Citingasolidmaterialfoundation,vastmarketpotential,strengthenednewdriversofgrowth,thereleaseofdividendsofreformandopening-up,aswellasrichexperienceinmacroregulation,KangsaidtheChineseeconomyiscertaintoseeanoverallimprovementthisyear.

Giventhecountry"soptimizedepidemicresponse,Kangbelievedthatconsumptionwillrevivethisyear.Finalconsumptioncontributed32.8percenttotheGDPexpansionin2022.

Asforthepropertyindustry,Kangsaiditwillhavelessdragontheeconomyin2023thanin2022.

ThereisstillroomforChina"spropertysectortogrow,asthecountry"surbanizationratereached65.22percentin2022--stillmuchlowerthanthe80percentfoundindevelopedcountries,hesaid,whilealsopledgingmeasurestosupportthedemandofurbanresidentsforhomeownershipandimprovedhousingconditions.

However,Kangalsowarnedofpossiblerisksin2023,asthefoundationofdomesticeconomicrecoveryisnotyetsolid,whilethedomestictriplepressuresofdemandcontraction,supplyshockandweakeningexpectations,arestillconcerns.

Chinawillmakeeconomicstabilityitstoppriorityandpursueprogress,whileensuringstabilitythisyear,hesaid.

"Shoringupconfidenceiscrucialforeconomicrecovery.In2023,theworseningglobaleconomicsituationneedsChina"ssteadygrowthasastabilizer,"ZhangYanshengnoted.

(Videoreporters:SunQing,YouZhixin,JiangTingting,WeiYukun,ChengYunjie;Videoeditors:ZhouYang,ZhangYuhong,WangHaiyan,LiuRuoshi)