BEIJING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- With its GDP approaching 100 trillion yuan (14.55 trillion U.S. dollars) and GDP per capita exceeding 10,000 dollars last year, China has marked a new economic milestone that also bears great significance to the rest of the world.
Friday's data showed China's GDP grew 6.1 percent to 99.09 trillion yuan in 2019, and the per capita GDP reached 10,276 dollars. Its per capita disposable income rose 5.8 percent to 30,733 yuan.
For China, this is a solid step toward the target of doubling its 2010 GDP by 2020, an important part of the nation's goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects for its 1.4 billion population.
It also serves to be a successful example of economic catching-up and inclusive growth, as the world watched the once economic backwater that could barely feed its own people becoming a major driving force of global economy.
In doing so, the nation has proved that a developing country with a huge population is capable of climbing up the ladder of development through structural reform, opening up and technological advancement.
Of all the miracles, China's battle against poverty has been the most recent and strikingly encouraging story. Aiming to eradicate absolute poverty by 2020, the nation has already lifted over 800 million people out of poverty, representing over 70 percent of global poverty reduction.
Likewise, China's GDP per capita passing the 10,000-dollar mark is also a major contribution to global development progress, which almost doubled the world's population enjoying such economic strength to nearly 3 billion, or more than 40 percent of the entire population on the planet.
The expansion in economic size also indicates a more influential role for China as a developing country on the global stage to reshape the world economic landscape and lead future growth.
After remaining the strongest engine for global economic expansion since 2006, China's contribution to global economic growth last year is still expected to be around 30 percent in spite of slower growth.
Meanwhile, as higher GDP per capita would translate into improved productivity and consumption power, a stable and open Chinese economy could mean more opportunities for the rest of the world.
With a 3.4-percent trade growth and total trade volume of over 31 trillion yuan, China has remained the world's biggest goods trading country in 2019. Moreover, China's ongoing urbanization and rapidly expanding consumer market are providing new possibilities for overseas investors.
Building on the strong momentum, progress will continue to be made in areas such as structural reform, technological innovation, domestic demand expansion and improvement of people's well-being. Future milestones will come up one after another.
