STORY: Croatian economist hails China's economic performance
SHOOTING DATE: Jan. 20, 2025
DATELINE: Jan. 24, 2025
LENGTH: 00:01:12
LOCATION: Zagreb
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb
2. various of Ljubo Jurcic
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Croatian): LJUBO JURCIC, Former Croatian minister of economy
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Croatian): LJUBO JURCIC, Former Croatian minister of economy

STORYLINE:

Ljubo Jurcic, a Croatian economist and former Croatian minister of economy, has hailed China's economic performance last year.

China's GDP increased by 5 percent in 2024 over the previous year.

China's foreign trade hit a record high of 43.85 trillion yuan (about 6.1 trillion USD) in 2024, up 5 percent year on year.

Jurcic attributes China's economic growth to key factors including the country's long-term investment in expanding production capacities and significant technological advancements.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Croatian): LJUBO JURCIC, Former Croatian minister of economy
"The long-term sources of this growth are the development of Chinese production capacities. China has built these capacities in its construction, increased its export capacities and, what is more important, incorporated significant technological progress into these capacities. So it has long-term factors for long-term growth in the world economy."

Jurcic spoke positively about the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for significantly boosting trade and economic ties between China and BRI partner countries.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Croatian): LJUBO JURCIC, Former Croatian minister of economy
"On one hand, China has invested a lot of money in facilitating trade, production, economic and financial cooperation, and this increases the development of the countries. It increases cooperation and connections with the Chinese economy, which is natural, and this increases the overall economic strength of the countries that are connected to this initiative."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Zagreb.
(XHTV)