by Xinhua writers Zheng Hangen Wang Haiqing
BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- China has outperformed many economies in the first half of 2017, powered by strong consumption and services, and the innovation-driven new economic sectors, according to the latest data from the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
A trend confirmed by the new figures is that innovation has indeed become a key engine of the Chinese economy, as the high-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors went up 13.1 percent and 11.5 percent in the first half of the year, respectively, and online sales surged a whopping 28.6 percent to 2.37 trillion yuan (about 350 billion U.S. dollars), among other highlights of the half-year economic report.
For quite some time, many global economic observers have been amazed at the omnipresence of mobile payments and the growing scale of the sharing economy in China, without pointing out the bigger picture behind such a phenomenon -- That is, the Chinese economy has evolved into a global model in terms of pursuing technological progress and innovation.
In the face of a chronically sluggish global economy, innovation may hold the key to stable and satisfactory development.
China's proposal to promote innovation has won global approval. The U.N. General Assembly endorsed China's idea on innovation in a resolution in April, saying it is crucial for creating jobs and expanding opportunities for all. And the recent G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany also devoted a session to digital economy, building on in-depth, high-level discussions on the topic at the previous G20 summit in Hangzhou of east China's Zhejiang Province.
Innovation has also become a new key word of China's bilateral cooperation with several other countries. At the start of the year, China and Switzerland agreed to establish a strategic innovative partnership.
In March, China and Israel announced an innovative comprehensive partnership, and in June, China and Germany agreed to strengthen cooperation on innovation.
China's practice to spur innovation via policy design has constantly optimized the eco-system for innovation and yielded eye-catching results.
According to official figures, in 2016, the number of in-force Chinese patents issued in China passed the million mark, and the contribution of scientific and technological progress to economic growth rose to 56.2 percent.
As renowned economist Klaus Schwab recently said, China is demonstrating to the world its stronger power to "lead the fourth industrial revolution, that is entrepreneurship and innovation," China is well on track to explore new territories for innovation and China is ready to share with the rest of the world its experiences in re-invigorating the economy with technology breakthrough and creativity.
