China's 2025 economic report was released on January 19, revealing that the economy withstood multiple pressures and maintained stable operation amidst a complex landscape of rapid external changes and increasing domestic challenges, presenting five major highlights.
Official data indicates that China's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2025 reached 140.1879 trillion yuan (Renminbi), surpassing the 140 trillion yuan mark for the first time, representing a year-on-year growth of 5%, which successfully met the expected target.
Kang Yi, Commissioner of the National Bureau of Statistics, pointed out that for an economy of China's massive scale, achieving such stable development against a backdrop of intertwined risks and challenges was no easy feat.
He mentioned that China's economic growth rate last year ranked among the top of the world's major economies, making it the most stable and reliable engine for global growth, with its contribution to world economic growth estimated to be around 30%.
While maintaining stable aggregate growth, China's economic structure also saw further optimization. In 2025, the value-added of high-tech manufacturing above the designated size accounted for 17.1% of the total industrial value-added above the designated size, while the value-added of digital product manufacturing above the designated size grew by 9.3% compared to the previous year, with server and industrial robot production experiencing rapid growth; green electricity, green energy, and the green economy flourished, with new energy vehicles accounting for over 50% of domestic new car sales.
Kang Yi stated that last year, China made significant new progress in innovation-driven development, industrial quality improvement, digital empowerment, and green transformation, with new quality productive forces evolving from conceptual consensus into tangible developmental outcomes, making economic growth more qualitative and sustainable.
Data shows that the total retail sales of consumer goods for the full year 2025 exceeded 50 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%, which was 0.2 percentage points faster than the growth in 2024, positioning China's retail market scale among the top globally. The contribution of final consumption expenditure to economic growth was 52%, an increase of 5 percentage points from the previous year, solidifying its role as the primary driver and stabilizer of economic growth.
Furthermore, service consumption experienced relatively rapid growth, with service retail sales in 2025 increasing by 5.5% year-on-year, outpacing the growth of goods retail sales by 1.7 percentage points. The proportion of service retail sales within the overall retail sales is rising.
Kang Yi mentioned that last year, China continued its efforts to expand domestic demand. As special campaigns to boost consumption took effect, the consumer market expanded steadily, its structure continuously optimized, and new consumption hotspots kept emerging. Numerous positive factors are expected to continue supporting consumption growth, suggesting a stable expansion of the consumer market.
Amid a global economic slowdown and rising trade protectionism, the total value of goods imports and exports for the full year 2025 reached 45.4687 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%. Official sources stated this marks the ninth consecutive year of growth for China's imports and exports, representing the longest streak of continuous growth since joining the World Trade Organization (WTO).
This achievement is attributed to the accelerated formation of a diversified foreign trade landscape, with China now being a major trading partner for over 150 countries and regions. The trade structure also continued to optimize, with high-tech, high-value-added products becoming the main drivers of export growth; exports of high-tech products in 2025 grew by 13.2% compared to the previous year.
In 2025, the national per capita disposable income reached 43,377 yuan, a real-term increase of 5.0% year-on-year, advancing in step with economic growth. The average surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.2%, indicating overall stable employment.
Specifically, the average unemployment rate for the urban labor force aged 30 to 59 was 4.0%, which is 1.2 percentage points lower than the overall urban level. As this demographic accounts for nearly 80% of China's total urban labor force, their stable employment forms a crucial foundation for the overall steady employment situation.
Wang Pingping, Director of the Department of Population and Employment Statistics at the National Bureau of Statistics, pointed out that last year, the proportion of manufacturing employment in the national total remained stable. Employment numbers increased in service sectors such as transportation, accommodation and catering, information transmission, and culture and sports entertainment compared to the previous year, indicating a continuous release of employment potential that has played a significant role in safeguarding livelihoods and promoting development.
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