BEIJING - China's economic strength has increased significantly, with its GDP soaring to 101.6 trillion yuan (about $15.7 trillion) last year from 67.9 billion yuan in 1952, said a white paper released Tuesday by the State Council Information Office.

According to the white paper titled "China's Epic Journey from Poverty to Prosperity," China has achieved a historic transformation from a low-income country to an upper-middle-income country, with per capita GDP rising from less than $100 in 1952 to over 10,000 dollars in 2020.

For years, the country has ranked the world's first in terms of added-value in the manufacturing sector and the output of over 220 major industrial products, the white paper said, noting that China has been the world's largest manufacturing country for the past 11 years.

In addition, China ranks first in terms of trade in goods and foreign exchange reserves, and ranks second in terms of its trade in services and consumer market.

The vitality, potential and staying power of its economy have been nurtured by a population of over 1.4 billion in pursuit of common prosperity, including a middle-income group of over 400 million people that keeps expanding - offering a supersized market growing faster than any other place in the world, the white paper said.

In 2020, China was the largest recipient of foreign direct investment. It was the first country to bring COVID-19 under control and reopen its economy.

The fact that China was the first country to shift from negative to positive growth reflected the resilience of its economy, the white paper said.