reading the economic trend, gross domestic product (gdp) growth rate is an intuitive "display".
what does one percentage point of gdp growth mean for the economy?
looking at the increment, this is the growth of larger volume and stronger strength. vertically, the increment brought by the growth rate of 1 percentage point of china's economy is equivalent to about 2.1 percentage points of 10 years ago. as the scale of the economy continues to increase, the current annual gdp increment in china has far exceeded the annual gdp in the early 1990s.
in terms of weight, this is a higher proportion and greater contribution to growth. even if the growth rate drops, china's gdp growth last year is still equivalent to the total economic output of a medium-sized country. as the second largest economy, china's economic aggregate accounts for about 18% of the global economy and has contributed more than 30% to world economic growth for many years in a row.
looking at quality, it's growth with less energy and more innovation. energy consumption per unit of gdp decreased by 26.4%, water consumption per unit of gdp decreased by 45%, and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gdp decreased by 34.4%. from 2012 to 2021, china's energy consumption growth rate of 3% per year supported an average economic growth rate of 6.6%, becoming one of the countries in the world with the fastest reduction in energy intensity. at the same time, china ranked 11th in the global innovation index, successfully entering the ranks of innovative countries.
since the beginning of this year, china's economy has continued to recover and made solid progress in high-quality development. in the first three quarters of this year, china's economic growth rate of 5.2% was among the highest among major economies in the world. however, the short-term fluctuations of some economic indicators have caused some people to worry about the prospects of china's economic development, including various arguments that "sing down" china.
to understand the general trend of china's economy, the increase or decrease of economic indicators is important, but it is not to be led by the nose by the fluctuations of short-term indicators, we must have historical patience and strategic determination, maintain confidence and normal mind, and look at the problem from a comprehensive, dialectical and long-term perspective, not only to look at the short-term "shape", but also to look at the long-term "trend", not only to look at the "quantity" of growth, but also to look at the "quality" of development. through one percentage point of gdp growth, we can see the big logic of high-quality development of our economy.
the high-quality development of china's economy is a development with higher gold content.
to observe economic development, it is more important to understand why. at present, china's economy is in a critical period of transforming the concept of development, optimizing the economic structure, and transforming the growth momentum. more important than the growth rate, it is the improvement of the quality of development and the conversion of old and new momentum. since the beginning of this year, china's economy has won advantages and initiative in structural adjustment, transformation and upgrading. from january to october, total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 6.9%, retail sales of services increased by 19.0%, industrial added value above designated size increased by 4.1%, and the service industry production index increased by 7.9%. economic growth with stronger driving force, better structure and higher returns continues to enhance the gold content of economic development. with the recent intensive implementation of measures to promote consumption by the national development and reform commission and other departments, the power of the "main engine" of consumption will continue to strengthen.
the high-quality development of china's economy is a stronger driving force for development.
throughout the world's economic history, countries that have successfully transformed into high-income economies have all relied on continuous innovation to improve the quality of development, and completed the successful transformation from a factor-driven development model to an innovation-driven development model. in recent years, the innovation-driven development strategy has been further implemented, making every percentage point of china's economic growth more high-tech. with new industries, new forms of business and new business models as its main content, the "three new" economy has grown rapidly, with the added value exceeding 20 trillion yuan for the first time in 2022, accounting for 17.36% of gdp. from january to october this year, investment in high-tech industries increased by 11.1% year-on-year, and the "first driving force" of innovation has become increasingly strong, pushing the economy on the path of high-quality development.
the high-quality development of china's economy is a development with more sense of acquisition.
improving people's well-being is the fundamental purpose of development. international experience shows that the employment driving efficiency of the tertiary industry is about 20% higher than that of the secondary industry. with the proportion of the service sector in gdp steadily increasing, china's gdp growth of 1 percentage point can create about 2 million new jobs.
since the beginning of this year, the service sector, especially the contact-oriented cluster service sector, has recovered rapidly, and its role in driving employment has been significantly enhanced. from january to september, 10.22 million new urban jobs were created nationwide, fulfilling 85 percent of the annual target. at present, the vigorous development of emerging industries has spawned new occupational demands for internet of things engineers and technicians, big data engineers and technicians, which will effectively expand employment space. the stable basic employment has laid a solid foundation and created favorable conditions for achieving common prosperity through high-quality development. in the first three quarters of this year, per capita disposable income grew by 5.9% year-on-year in real terms, outpacing gdp growth.
"the deeper you go, the harder it is to get in." today, national rejuvenation has entered a crucial stage, and the journey of chinese modernization has become more ambitious and the time has become more urgent. we must be soberly aware that the larger the economic size, the higher the quality and the less energy consumption, the higher the requirements and difficulties of development. this also means that one percentage point of gdp growth requires us to make more efforts and meet greater challenges.
"on our new journey, our future is bright, but the road below us will not be smooth and smooth." jinping xi general secretary's sonorous words are inspiring and encouraging. looking forward to the future, china's economic development has a long way to go, we must insist on the green mountains do not relax the persistence, the line of the half of the 90 clear, continue to climb the slope, overcome difficulties, dare to dare to work hard, and create new great undertakings with new great struggles.
source: chinese government website