At the 2026 Corporate Credit Development Forum and the 17th Integrity Public Welfare Ceremony held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on March 27, 2026, Yin Yanlin, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, delivered a keynote speech.
Yin highlighted five positive trends in the current economic performance: a turnaround in investment from negative to positive growth, a noticeable rebound in market sales, continued strength in export figures, accelerated industrial production, and encouraging shifts in price levels.
He emphasized that the next phase should focus on fully implementing the directives from the Central Economic Work Conference and the National People's Congress sessions. This includes adopting more proactive macro policies, enhancing counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustments, and integrating the effects of existing and new policies. More vigorous fiscal measures should be introduced, alongside signals of appropriately accommodative monetary policy, to solidify the recovery in investment. Efforts should also accelerate the rollout of income growth plans for urban and rural residents to sustain consumption expansion. Deepening reforms, such as advancing the development of a unified national market, remain crucial. Additionally, risks in key sectors must be addressed proactively and steadily, with particular attention to stabilizing the real estate market. The overarching goal is to achieve an effective qualitative rebound and reasonable quantitative growth in the economy.
According to recently released data from the National Bureau of Statistics, fixed asset investment grew by 1.8% year-on-year in the first two months of the year, reversing previous declines. This improvement was largely driven by a significant acceleration in infrastructure investment, which increased by 11.4% and contributed three percentage points to overall investment growth. Large-scale projects, especially those with investments exceeding 5 billion yuan, saw the fastest growth rates.
Market sales also showed a clear recovery, with total retail sales of consumer goods rising 2.8% year-on-year in January-February, up 1.9 percentage points from December of the previous year. The extended Spring Festival holiday boosted cultural and tourism consumption, with domestic tourist numbers nearing 600 million and related spending exceeding 800 billion yuan, both setting new records.
Exports remained robust, with goods export value growing 19.2% in the first two months, while imports increased 17.1%. The growth in imports, which accelerated significantly, indicated improving domestic demand.
Industrial production gained momentum, with value-added output from large-scale industries rising 6.3%. The equipment manufacturing sector grew 9.3%, accounting for 47.4% of the overall industrial growth. The expansion was supported by advances in new productive forces and the application of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
Price trends also turned favorable. The consumer price index rose 0.8% year-on-year in January-February, while the core CPI, excluding food and energy, increased 1.3%. Service prices, in particular, saw a notable rise. The decline in the producer price index narrowed, reflecting improved domestic demand and higher prices for certain international commodities.
These indicators suggest that economic performance in early 2026 exceeded market expectations, laying a solid foundation for continued recovery. Looking ahead, achieving the growth target of 4.5% to 5% set during the national sessions will require sustained policy efforts, cultivation of new quality productive forces, and further structural reforms. However, external uncertainties and domestic challenges remain, necessitating cautious yet determined policy implementation.
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