by Martina Fuchs

GENEVA, March 17 (Xinhua) -- China's emphasis on high-tech and the large-scale industrial development of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and digital technologies, will further cement the country's position as a global growth engine, said an economist.

"China's domestic economy is becoming more sophisticated and more complex," John Zhu, chief economist Asia at Swiss Re, one of the world's largest reinsurers, said in a virtual interview.

During the just-concluded "two sessions" -- the annual meetings of China's top legislature and top political advisory body -- China set an economic growth target of 4.5 to 5 percent for 2026, aiming for a good start to the new five-year plan that charts the course for high-quality development and offers much-needed certainty to a troubled world economy.

"The change in the growth target to that range was expected and it makes sense given that the world is very uncertain and unpredictable," he said. "China's role in global growth has been maintained for many years now ... a significant part of growth every year in the world comes from China," Zhu added.

The "two sessions" marked a pivotal moment as the world's second-largest economy embarks on the inaugural year of its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period, serving as both a review of past achievements and a strategic compass guiding the nation's future development.

Newly released data by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that in 2025, China's economy remained robust despite headwinds, achieving stable year-on-year GDP growth of 5 percent.

Commenting on China's economic and social development over the past year, Zhu highlighted the country's resilience and continued progress in green development.

"In 2025, growth was resilient despite very challenging external conditions and a huge amount of uncertainty. It was an achievement, really."

Zhu also noted progress in green development, which remains a priority. "The Chinese economy's energy transition continues on both the production and consumption sides," he said.

"The share of non-fossil fuel energy is rising, along with the installed capacity for green energy production and storage. China is effectively positioning itself for future industrial competitiveness, while maintaining long-term energy security," he said.

"These all feed into general industrial upgrading. So we see strong output growth in robotics, semiconductor-related sectors, and overall progress in upgrading the domestic supply chains," he said. ■