China's 2021-2025 economic increment projected to exceed 35 trillion yuan: official

China's State Council Information Office holds a press conference on the country's high-quality fulfillment of targets set for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), in Beijing, capital of China, July 9, 2025. Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, presented achievements in social and economic development during the period and answered questions from the media. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) -- China's economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), with its economic increment projected to exceed 35 trillion yuan (4.89 trillion U.S. dollars).

Over the first four years of the period, the economy expanded at an average annual growth rate of 5.5 percent, Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said Wednesday at a press conference.

Despite the shocks of the pandemic and trade bullying, China's growth is an unprecedented achievement given its vast economic scale, Zheng said.

Highlighting the great economic dynamism, Zheng said the country's total R&D expenditure surged nearly 50 percent, or 1.2 trillion yuan, from 2020 to 2024, and the number of registered private enterprises surpassed 58 million at the end of May 2025, over 40 percent higher than 2020.