On June 2, a cargo ship was being loaded and unloaded at a berth in the fully automated container terminal of Qingdao Port, Shandong Province.
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Transport, in the first four months of 2026, Qingdao Port handled a cumulative cargo throughput of 251.17 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%, and a container throughput of 11.53 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 8.1%.
China's economic output reached 140.2 trillion yuan in 2025, solidifying its position as the world's second-largest economy. In 2024, the country's per capita gross national income rose to the top among upper-middle-income nations.
The National Bureau of Statistics released a series of reports on June 2 and 3 detailing the socio-economic achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, outlining an extraordinary phase of development for the nation.
Over these five years, the cumulative increase in China's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) surpassed 36 trillion yuan. The 2025 economic output, converted at the average annual exchange rate, accounted for approximately one-sixth of the global total. The per capita gross national income reached $13,660 in 2024.
Economic Growth Averaged 5.4% Annually
Despite facing risks and uncertainties including a global pandemic and complex international conditions, China maintained steady growth in its comprehensive national strength during the period.
In terms of growth rate, China's economy expanded at an average annual rate of 5.4%, significantly higher than the global average of around 3.7%. Regarding economic scale, the 2025 output of 140.2 trillion yuan was nearly equivalent to the combined total of the world's third to seventh largest economies.
While the economic scale expanded, per capita development levels also steadily climbed. Per capita GDP rose from $10,632 in 2020 to $13,953 in 2025, exceeding $13,000 for three consecutive years. In the World Bank's ranking of per capita gross national income, China advanced to the top position among upper-middle-income countries.
Simultaneously, overall labor productivity (calculated at 2020 prices) increased from 138,000 yuan per person to 184,000 yuan per person, with an average annual growth of 6.0%. The health and overall quality of the population improved steadily, with average life expectancy rising to 79.25 years in 2025 and the average years of education for the population aged 16-59 increasing to 11.3 years.
Over the five years, China remained the largest contributor and the most significant stabilizing force for global economic growth. Its average annual contribution to world economic growth from 2021 to 2025 remained around 30%.
Facing a complex landscape of headwinds for global growth and counter-currents in globalization, China consistently pursued opening-up and cooperation. In 2025, the value of China's goods imports reached 18.5 trillion yuan, making it the world's second-largest import market for the 17th consecutive year.
Innovation Drives Quality Upgrades Across Three Major Sectors
Technological innovation has become the most powerful engine for enhancing the quality of China's economy. In 2025, the nation's total expenditure on research and experimental development (R&D) exceeded 3.9 trillion yuan, solidly ranking second globally.
The R&D intensity increased from 2.36% in 2020 to 2.80% in 2025, surpassing the average level of OECD member countries for the first time.
In 2025, China's ranking in the Global Innovation Index rose to 10th place, an improvement of four positions from 2020. The number of its top 100 innovation clusters ranked first globally.
Innovation has empowered quality upgrades in agriculture, industry, and services. In agriculture, by the end of 2025, the cumulative area of high-standard farmland nationwide exceeded 1 billion mu, the comprehensive mechanization rate for crop cultivation, planting, and harvesting reached 76.7%, and the coverage rate of improved crop varieties surpassed 96%.
In industry, from 2021 to 2025, the value-added of large-scale equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing grew at average annual rates of 8.4% and 9.2%, respectively. The country has cultivated over 60 national advanced manufacturing clusters in emerging industrial fields.
In services, the value-added of the service sector grew at an average annual real rate of 5.8% from 2021 to 2025, 0.4 percentage points faster than the average annual GDP growth. Modern service industries performed well, with value-added in information transmission, software and IT services, and leasing and business services growing at average annual rates of 13.1% and 10.7%, respectively.
Concurrently, China has established a new development paradigm featuring mutual reinforcement between the domestic and international economic cycles. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, domestic demand contributed an average of 83.0% to economic growth, with final consumption expenditure contributing an average of 58.8%, a 10.0 percentage point increase from the 13th Five-Year Plan period.
Actively integrating into the global cycle, the scale of goods trade increased from 32.2 trillion yuan in 2020 to 45.5 trillion yuan in 2025, with an average annual growth of 7.1%, solidifying its position as the world's largest goods trading nation.
Stable Employment and Rising Incomes Paint a Picture of Improved Livelihoods
The period saw continuous progress in painting a picture of public well-being, characterized by stable employment, growing incomes, and improved access to healthcare.
From 2021 to 2025, the national surveyed urban unemployment rate at year-end remained stable between 5.1% and 5.5%, with over 12 million new urban jobs created annually. The national per capita disposable income increased from 32,000 yuan in 2020 to 43,000 yuan in 2025, representing an average annual real growth of 5.4% on a comparable basis.
In 2025, per capita expenditure on education, culture, and entertainment accounted for 11.8% of total per capita consumer spending, an increase of 2.2 percentage points from 2020. The number of passenger cars and air conditioners per 100 households reached 52.9 and 161.8, respectively, representing increases of 42.6% and 37.5% from 2020.
Over the five years, more than 240,000 old urban residential communities were renovated, benefiting 110 million people.
Social undertakings including education, healthcare, culture, and sports progressed steadily, with public service provision becoming more balanced and inclusive. Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the popularization level of basic education has remained in the upper-middle tier globally.
The retention rate for nine-year compulsory education has remained above 95%, and higher education institutions have supplied 55 million graduates to society. Healthcare resources have become more abundant, with the number of hospital beds and health technicians nationwide reaching 10.04 million and 13.46 million, respectively, by the end of 2025.
The cultural industry developed rapidly. In 2024, the operating revenue of the national cultural and related industries grew by 37.7% compared to 2020. Cultural "new trio" products, represented by online literature, online film and television series, and online games, performed impressively in international markets.
The concept of national fitness has gained widespread acceptance. In 2025, the proportion of residents aged 7 and above who regularly participated in physical exercise reached 38.52%, and the per capita sports area reached 3.1 square meters by year-end.
Comments