Aerial photo shows a container vessel sailing into Tianjin Port in North China's Tianjin, Feb 22, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING -- The Chinese economy, according to President Xi Jinping, is like an ocean, vast enough to survive any storm.

"The ocean may have its calm days, but big winds and storms are only to be expected," Xi said at the opening ceremony of the first China International Import Expo in 2018.

China's economy showed strong resilience despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the worst recession of the world economy since the end of World War II, and attempts of a few countries to contain China's development.

Rather than being dampened by this inclemency, China's economy remained resilient, emerging as the only major economy to report growth in 2020, ballasted, undeniably, by Chinese leadership and huge domestic market.

"Having experienced numerous winds and storms, the ocean will still be there! It is the same for China," Xi said.

As an ocean nurtures life, China's development, growth and opportunities benefit the rest of the world.

China forged ahead with resuming work and production early last year and contributed to stabilization of the global supply chain. Increased imports have also buoyed the recovery of the world economy.

Just as the ocean refuses no rivers, contemporary China is similarly inclusive: The nation is a vigorous advocate of free trade and multilateralism and an active proponent of an open global economy.

At a 2020 ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of development and opening up of Shanghai's Pudong, the forefront of China's reform and opening up, Xi said that the world economy is also an ocean.

"Any attempt to obstruct the interconnectivity of the world's oceans and seas is nothing but an illusion," Xi has said.