China's economy expected to recover gradually from Omicron impacts: spokesperson

May 16, 2022: China's economy is expected to recover gradually as the country achieves major anti-epidemic outcomes and pro-growth policies take effects, Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, said Monday.

The country's economy took a hit from the domestic resurgence of COVID-19 cases in April, but the impacts are "short-lived and external," Fu said.

"The fundamentals of the Chinese economy remain unchanged. The overall trends of economic transformation and upgrading and high-quality development remain unchanged," he said.

"There are many favorable conditions for stabilizing the economy and achieving the expected development goals," the spokesperson said.

With a super-large market, complete industrial and supply chains and huge domestic demand, the world's second-largest economy has the resilience to ward off all kinds of challenges.

Fu said that despite the impacts of the epidemic, grain and energy production maintained growth during the first four months, laying a solid foundation for fighting the epidemic and promoting economic recovery. In April, the output of raw coal, crude oil and natural gas rose 10.7 percent, 4 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, year on year.

Market supply of food and daily necessities was sufficient, with prices remaining stable. The consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose just 2.1 percent year on year last month.

High-tech industries posted stellar performances, with the production of new-energy vehicles and solar cells surging 42.2 percent and 20.8 percent year on year in April.

China's economy is expected to improve in May with the accelerating resumption of work and production in Shanghai and Jilin as well as the implementation of pro-growth measures, he added.

Looking ahead, China will strengthen macro policy adjustment and mitigate the epidemic's impacts to ensure the economy runs within an appropriate range, Fu said.

Xinhua/APP