China's GDP grew by 5.5 percent year-on-year in the first half of the year, faster than the average annual growth rate of 4.5 percent in the three years of epidemic prevention and control, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

An NBS spokesman said the economic growth rate in the first half of the year is on a solid footing, due to a pickup in overall economic growth, continuous expansion of domestic demand, ever-consolidating industrial development, the optimization of the economic structure, building up of innovation momentum and effective guarantee of employment and people's livelihoods.

China's economic growth is also significantly faster than that of other major economies. Compared with a GDP growth of 1.8 percent in the United States, 1 percent in the eurozone, 1.9 percent in Japan and 4 percent in Brazil in the first quarter of 2023, China's growth in the first half of the year, even taking into account the low base of growth in the second quarter of last year, is still the fastest among major economies. Given the negative impact of complicated political and economic situations, China's economic growth is indeed a hard-won performance.

Against the backdrop of unpredictable factors in the international market, China's foreign trade, both imports and exports, has withstood the pressure, stabilized the scale and improved the quality. A series of figures once again show the resilience, great potential and vitality of China's economy.

Of course, China's current economic development also faces a series of challenges and risks. Since the beginning of this year, China's foreign trade has undergone certain fluctuations. At the same time, employment is also a top priority. To promote high-quality development, the country must create more jobs and let graduates and young people gradually enter the labor market. Given the complicated international political and economic situation and weak world economic recovery, more efforts are needed to promote sustained economic recovery.

China is in a stage of rapid development in the upgrading of its consumption structure, and people's rising incomes and improved consumption environment will boost sustained consumption, promoting high-quality economic development.

China should now focus on expanding domestic demand, accelerating the cultivation and growth of new drivers, and stimulating the vitality of business entities through deepening reform and opening-up.