In April, production and supply continued to grow, employment and prices remained generally stable, development momentum was optimized and upgraded, resilience and vitality were consistently demonstrated, and the national economy maintained a trend of advancing and optimizing development. On May 18, at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office, Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, Chief Economist, and Director of the Department of Comprehensive Statistics of the National Economy, introduced the operation of China's economy in April.
The momentum of industrial optimization and upgrading continues, with new growth drivers rapidly developing. From January to April, the value-added of industrial enterprises above the designated size increased by 5.6% year-on-year, maintaining steady and relatively fast growth. In April, the momentum of industrial optimization and upgrading continued, and new growth drivers developed rapidly. Fu Linghui provided an introduction from four aspects.
Equipment manufacturing showed improvement. In April, the value-added of equipment manufacturing above the designated size increased by 8.3% year-on-year, 0.1 percentage points faster than the previous month, contributing 74.5% to the growth of all industrial enterprises above the designated size. By sector, the competitiveness of the electronics and automotive industries continued to improve, with their value-added growing by 15.6% and 9.2%, respectively. China's equipment manufacturing strength has increased, and related products are welcomed globally. From January to April, exports of automatic data processing equipment and automobiles grew by 28% and 49.5%, respectively.
Industrial optimization and upgrading progressed. In April, the value-added of high-tech manufacturing above the designated size increased by 12.8% year-on-year, 1.1 percentage points faster than the previous month, significantly outpacing the growth rate of industrial enterprises above the designated size. By sector, the value-added of the aerospace and equipment manufacturing industry and the electronics and communication equipment manufacturing industry grew by 15.4% and 17.4%, respectively. The pace of industrial digital and intelligent transformation remained steady, with the production of digital and intelligent products maintaining relatively fast growth. In April, the value-added of the digital product manufacturing industry increased by 12% year-on-year, 2.4 percentage points faster than the previous month.
New growth drivers developed rapidly. Green transformation progressed steadily, with new energy-related industries growing relatively fast. In April, the output of hydroelectric generating sets and lithium-ion batteries increased by 47.4% and 31%, respectively. Emerging industries accelerated their layout, with embodied intelligence and human-machine collaboration playing an enhanced driving role. In April, the output of robot reducers and industrial robots grew by 38.3% and 15.1%, respectively.
Corporate expectations improved. Since the beginning of the year, industrial product prices have rebounded, and corporate profitability has improved. From January to March, the profits of industrial enterprises above the designated size increased by 15.5% year-on-year, with significant improvements in the profitability of high-end manufacturing industries. Comprehensive measures to address "internal competition," market environment optimization, and increased corporate profits have driven improved corporate expectations. In April, the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index stood at 50.3%, remaining in the expansion zone for two consecutive months, with the manufacturing production and business activity expectation index at 54.5%, rising consistently since the beginning of the year.
The service sector maintained steady growth, showing a trend of increasing volume and improving quality. Since the beginning of the year, China's service sector has maintained steady growth, with structural optimization and upgrading, presenting a trend of increasing volume and improving quality. In April, the service industry production index increased by 4.3% year-on-year.
Modern services showed strong growth momentum. The rapid development of artificial intelligence has driven demand for computing power, promoting the growth of the information services industry. In April, the production index of the information transmission, software, and information technology services industry increased by 11.7% year-on-year, significantly faster than the overall service sector growth rate. Companies, aiming to enhance product value, have strengthened brand planning and promotion, leading to expanded demand in the service sector. In April, business service activities were relatively active, with the production index of the leasing and business services industry increasing by 10.7% year-on-year, 0.6 percentage points faster than the previous month.
High-tech services developed positively. From January to March, the operating income of scientific and technological services and research and design services above the designated size both increased by 9% year-on-year, significantly faster than all services above the designated size. From January to April, investment in high-tech services increased by 10.5% year-on-year, with investment in information services and inspection and testing services growing by 18.1% and 13.7%, respectively.
Residential life services grew steadily. Consumer spending on services remained stable, with the number of tourists during the Qingming holiday continuing to increase. From January to April, service retail sales increased by 5.6% year-on-year. Increased activities such as travel and entertainment drove growth in industries like transportation. In April, the production index of the transportation, storage, and postal industry increased by 4.3% year-on-year, 0.3 percentage points faster than the previous month.
Emerging services played an enhanced driving role. Digital consumption developed rapidly, with new business models such as online services showing strong growth. From January to April, online service retail sales increased by 8.3% year-on-year. The platform economy continued to develop, with active transactions in internet services. Related data shows that from January to April, transaction volume for tourism services increased by 15% year-on-year, while cultural and sports services transaction volume grew by 10.4%. The application scenarios of new-generation digital technologies accelerated, with rapid growth in cloud service usage. From January to April, transaction volume on software and information service platforms increased by 7% year-on-year.
Optimized investment structure lays the foundation for medium- and long-term development. In April, affected by factors such as a high base in the same period last year, total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 0.2% year-on-year, with a month-on-month decrease of 0.48%, and the growth rate of retail sales of goods slowed somewhat.
Considering both goods and services retail sales, the trend of steady consumption growth remains unchanged. Preliminary estimates show that from January to April, total retail sales of consumer goods and services increased by 3.2% year-on-year, remaining generally stable compared to the first quarter, Fu Linghui analyzed.
Service consumption expanded steadily. From January to April, service retail sales increased by 5.6% year-on-year, 0.1 percentage points faster than the first quarter, significantly outpacing the growth rate of retail sales of goods.
New types of consumption showed strong growth momentum. Online consumption, digital consumption, and green consumption developed relatively quickly. From January to April, online retail sales of goods and services increased by 6.6% year-on-year, while retail sales of communication and information services grew by over 10% year-on-year.
Upgrading of goods consumption continued. From January to April, retail sales of grain, oil, food, and beverages increased by 8.6% and 6%, respectively, faster than the growth rate of total retail sales of goods, indicating an improvement in the quality of basic living goods consumption. Retail sales of communication equipment and cosmetics grew by 17.7% and 5.6%, respectively, reflecting the release of diverse and personalized consumer demand.
In terms of investment, affected by multiple factors, fixed asset investment from January to April decreased by 1.6% year-on-year, but increased by 1.3% after deducting real estate development investment.
Although total investment decreased, driven by innovation leadership, the growth of new growth drivers, and increased livelihood safeguards, investment in key areas grew relatively quickly, and the investment structure was optimized, laying the foundation for medium- and long-term development, Fu Linghui explained in detail.
Investment for "enhancing future momentum" continued to expand. Since the beginning of the year, new infrastructure projects such as computing power and next-generation communication networks have accelerated their layout, with related industry investments maintaining relatively fast growth. From January to April, investment in information transmission increased by 29.2%; investment in water transport and air transport grew by 28.4% and 27.3%, respectively; and investment in intellectual property products increased by 8.9% year-on-year, 1 percentage point faster than the first quarter.
Investment for "promoting development" grew relatively quickly. From January to April, driven by large-scale equipment renewal policies, investment in equipment and tools procurement increased by 11.5% year-on-year, with significant increases in equipment procurement investment in industries related to computing power demand.
Investment for "benefiting people's livelihoods" continued to increase. From January to April, agricultural investment increased by 14.5% year-on-year, while investment in electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply increased by 4.4% year-on-year, continuing to provide safeguards for improving people's livelihoods.
In April, the growth rates of some indicators declined, which is a normal fluctuation between months. Looking at cumulative indicators, macroeconomic indicators, and some structural indicators, the main theme of China's economy—stability—has not changed, said Wang Guanhua, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics and Deputy Director of the Department of Comprehensive Statistics of the National Economy. In the next stage, there is a solid foundation and favorable conditions for promoting steady and improving economic development. It is essential to fully utilize and leverage macroeconomic policies, implement targeted measures, and enhance the endogenous momentum of economic development.
In April, while key indicators showed steady improvement, some demand-side monthly indicators such as consumption and investment experienced fluctuations. There is no need for excessive concern, but proactive efforts should be made to deeply tap into domestic demand potential.
Looking at the fundamentals of consumption and investment, although monthly growth rates have declined, they still exhibit characteristics such as structural optimization and significant potential.
First, consider the structure. In terms of consumption, from January to April, service consumption grew steadily, jointly supporting consumption growth alongside goods consumption. In terms of investment, from January to April, infrastructure investment and manufacturing investment both achieved positive growth, with new growth drivers flourishing.
Next, consider the potential. Today, China's per capita GDP exceeds $13,000, and the country is in a stage of rapid consumption structure upgrading. The relatively fast growth of some upgraded goods retail sales and the development of new types of consumption in the first four months serve as evidence. The continuous advancement of new urbanization and new industrialization also harbors investment potential in areas such as addressing weaknesses, strengthening shortcomings, and optimizing structure.
Looking ahead, we must not only have confidence in the ultra-large-scale market but also actively advance in resolving the contradiction between strong supply and weak demand and firmly expanding domestic demand. On one hand, efforts should be made to implement actions to boost consumption, continuously expand the supply of high-quality goods and services, and allow consumption demand to be released continuously. On the other hand, steady progress should be made in major engineering projects, continuously stimulating the vitality of private investment, and gradually transforming investment demand into tangible growth outcomes. As the "main driving force and stabilizing anchor" become stronger and more solid, China's economy will advance more steadily.
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