At a monthly press conference held on May 22, officials from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) addressed public concerns regarding macroeconomic trends, price movements, and energy supply in April. Li Chao, Deputy Director of the NDRC's Policy Research Office and spokesperson, stated that the commission will accelerate the implementation of policies aimed at stabilizing employment, enterprises, markets, and expectations. It will also enhance economic monitoring and forecasting, continuously refine the policy toolkit, and strive for a strong start to the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.
The overall economic trajectory remains stable, Li Chao emphasized. Despite some fluctuations in certain economic indicators in April, influenced by increased external uncertainties, rising geopolitical risks, and the prominent domestic imbalance between strong supply and weak demand, the fundamental trend of stable operation and high-quality development remains unchanged. Three key characteristics stand out.
First, emerging growth drivers are strengthening. China's high-tech manufacturing sector has seen rapid growth in value-added, investment, exports, and profits. From January to April, value-added in large-scale high-tech manufacturing increased by 12.6% year-on-year. Investment in high-tech industries grew by 6.1%, with notable increases in aviation, aerospace equipment manufacturing (17.9%), computer and office equipment manufacturing (13.9%), and information services (18.1%). Exports of high-tech products surged by 27.6%, accounting for 27.9% of total exports.
Second, market efficiency is improving. Efforts to manage capacity and address "involutionary" competition in key industries are showing sustained results. "The gradual improvement in supply-demand dynamics and price stabilization in some sectors are boosting corporate profits and market expectations," Li Chao noted. In the first quarter, profits of large-scale industrial enterprises grew by 15.5% year-on-year, with high-tech manufacturing profits soaring by 47.4%.
Third, the foreign trade structure is optimizing. Amid a volatile international environment, China leverages its comprehensive industrial system to continuously enhance product and service quality. From January to April, total import and export value increased by 14.9% year-on-year. Alongside this growth, the trade structure has been consistently optimized. Market cooperation has become more diversified, with imports and exports to ASEAN, the EU, and Belt and Road partner countries all maintaining double-digit growth. The product mix is also improving: exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 17.6%, with electric vehicles and integrated circuits seeing remarkable increases of 68.1% and 78.3%, respectively. Exports of wind turbine components and industrial robots also showed strong growth, rising by 40.7% and 30%, respectively.
Price trends are sending positive signals. In April, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 1.2% year-on-year, maintaining a moderate increase above 1% for the third consecutive month. The Producer Price Index (PPI) increased by 2.8% year-on-year, marking two consecutive months of growth. Li Chao analyzed these trends from several angles.
First, they reflect demand shifts in related sectors. Holiday effects from the Qingming Festival, Labor Day, and spring breaks in some regions boosted travel demand, leading to service price increases for tourism, hotel accommodation, and vehicle rentals that exceeded seasonal norms. On the PPI front, accelerated green transformation and rapid AI development drove demand in related industries, with prices in non-ferrous metal smelting/processing and computer/communication equipment manufacturing rising by 22.5% and 1.5% year-on-year, respectively.
Second, they reflect the effectiveness of earlier comprehensive governance. Continued efforts to curb "involutionary" competition are showing results. Prices in the electrical machinery sector, including photovoltaics, rose by 3.6% year-on-year. Price declines for fuel-powered and new energy passenger vehicles narrowed by 2.7 and 1.4 percentage points, respectively, compared to the full-year 2023 figures. Ongoing capacity management and transformation in traditional industries helped narrow the price decline in ferrous metal smelting and processing by 6.6 percentage points compared to 2023.
Third, prices for essential goods have remained largely stable. Since the beginning of the year, coordinated efforts by the NDRC and other departments have ensured stable supply and prices for key livelihood commodities. Food prices have generally continued a pattern of minor fluctuations, with a cumulative year-on-year change close to zero for the first four months.
Fourth, timely and effective measures have addressed sudden changes. Earlier, sharp fluctuations in international crude oil prices within a short period, transmitted downstream to chemical and other sectors, created imported inflationary pressure. In response, temporary regulatory measures were implemented to control the extent of domestic refined oil price increases, effectively mitigating the impact of external factors on domestic production and life.
"Overall, April's price levels continued the moderate recovery trend seen since the second half of last year, sending positive signals of improving supply-demand relations and optimized market order," Li Chao stated. With the deepening implementation of macro policies, supply-demand dynamics are expected to improve further, and prices are projected to remain within a reasonable range.
Accelerating the Implementation of "AI+" Regarding the progress of the "AI+" initiative, Li Chao explained that since last year, the NDRC, in collaboration with relevant departments, has issued over ten policy documents for sectors including manufacturing, healthcare, and energy, based on their respective development foundations and characteristics, to continuously improve the policy framework.
"Simultaneously, we have worked with relevant departments to establish a number of national AI application pilot bases in fields like manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation. This continuously improves support in computing power, data, and application scenarios, significantly shortening the transition cycle for AI technologies from labs to testing grounds and from factories to markets, reducing implementation costs, and accelerating AI's empowerment of countless industries," Li Chao said.
On safety regulation, Li Chao noted that policies such as the "Interim Measures for AI Science and Technology Ethics Review and Service" and the "Interim Administrative Measures for AI Personified Interactive Services" have been issued. Research on AI legislation is currently underway to strengthen safety governance capabilities and promote the healthy, orderly development of AI in a beneficial, safe, and fair direction.
In the field of embodied AI, Li Chao stated that efforts will focus on accelerating the construction of training infrastructure for embodied intelligence, enabling robots not only to compete in arenas but also to "enter factories, shopping malls, and homes," rapidly integrating into various sectors.
"Recently, we are planning to issue supporting documents to accelerate the implementation of 'AI+', further strengthening factor support," Li Chao added. "At the same time, we will continue to promote state-owned and central enterprises to open up high-value application scenarios, create benchmark AI applications across industries and regions, and accelerate the integration of AI into all aspects and links of production, operation, and management."
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