On February 10, 2026, the Chinese Embassy in the United States held the “Galloping Steadily Toward Progress in the Year of the Horse” 2026 Chinese New Year Reception. Ambassador Xie said in his remarks that in the past year, the Chinese economy grew against all the odds, making new progress in innovation-led and high-quality development. Despite sluggish global economic growth, China’s economic output crossed the threshold of 140 trillion yuan in 2025, with GDP growing 5% year-on-year. We have energized development through innovation. A stream of new innovations and major projects were accomplished, including the Tianwen-2 spacecraft, and the Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project. Frontier technologies such as large AI models and humanoid robots have been competing in a race to the top. We have the world’s largest number of lighthouse factories, and have entered the top 10 of the Global Innovation Index for the first time.

We have powered global development through openness. Last year, we held events including the China International Consumer Products Expo, the Canton Fair, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, and the China International Import Expo. We launched island-wide special customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port, expanded our visa-free policy to more countries and regions, and granted zero-tariff treatment to all least developed countries having diplomatic relations with us. China is now a major trading partner of more than 150 countries and regions. It is sharing opportunities with the world with open arms, and will continue to be one of the most stable and reliable engines of global growth.