The year 2026 marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, making its first-quarter economic performance highly anticipated. According to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter increased by 5.0% year-on-year, a significant acceleration of 0.5 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year. Major macroeconomic indicators showed improved growth momentum, with new growth drivers developing rapidly, indicating a strong start for the national economy. This performance was achieved against the backdrop of a high base from the first quarter of last year and a more complex external environment, underscoring its hard-won and high-quality nature, which fully demonstrates the strong resilience and vigorous vitality of China's economy.
The first-quarter economic data released several positive signals. From an industrial perspective, the value-added of the secondary industry grew by 4.9%, while the tertiary industry expanded by 5.2%, reflecting a stable dual-driver pattern of industry and services. The value-added of industrial enterprises above the designated size increased by 6.1% year-on-year, accelerating by 1.1 percentage points from the previous quarter, indicating a continued recovery in production vitality. On the demand side, the growth rate of fixed-asset investment turned positive, rising by 1.7% year-on-year in the first quarter, with infrastructure investment surging by 8.9%, as the construction of major projects visibly accelerated. Total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 2.4% year-on-year, with the effects of policies promoting the replacement of old consumer goods continuing to show, and the penetration rate of green consumption steadily increasing.
More notably, alongside the growth rebound, prices remained stable. The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.9% year-on-year in the first quarter, while the core CPI increased by 1.2%. The employment situation remained generally stable, with the average surveyed urban unemployment rate on par with the same period last year. The coordinated improvement in the four major macroeconomic indicators—growth, employment, prices, and the balance of payments—paints a picture of an economy that is "stable with progress and improving in quality."
High-quality development is an essential principle in the new era, and new quality productive forces represent both an inherent requirement and a key focus for advancing such development. In the first quarter, the value-added of equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing grew significantly faster than the overall industrial sector above the designated size. The information transmission, software, and information technology services sector, along with the leasing and business services sector, saw their value-added increase by 10.6% and 12.2% year-on-year, respectively, contributing nearly 25% to economic growth collectively. Although high-tech manufacturing accounts for less than 20% of the value-added of industrial enterprises above the designated size, it contributed 32.6% to the overall growth rate of this segment. This indicates that new growth drivers, driven by technological progress and industrial upgrading, are rapidly becoming the main force propelling economic growth.
Moving toward innovation must also mean advancing toward green development. In the first quarter, the output of lithium-ion batteries and wind turbine generators surged by 40.8% and 30.1% year-on-year, respectively. Exports of the "new three" products—electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells—grew at a high speed, with electric vehicle exports increasing by 77.5%. While serving its own development, China's new energy industry is also contributing to global green and low-carbon transformation. The path of transformation toward innovation, optimization, and sustainability is becoming broader and more stable.
A strong start is crucial for the full year, as the beginning often determines the outcome. Looking at the year ahead based on the start, there is confidence, conditions, and capability to achieve stable economic performance and high-quality development throughout the year. This confidence stems from strength. China boasts the world's most comprehensive industrial system, the largest domestic market, and the richest application scenarios, alongside a continuously optimized business environment and deepening high-level openness. In the first two months of this year, 8,631 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in China, a year-on-year increase of 14%. Foreign companies continue to invest in China and deepen their presence across the entire industrial chain, casting a "vote of confidence" in the resilience of China's economy and its market opportunities.
Confidence also comes from action. From the accelerated progress of super projects in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to the intensive commencement of major projects across the country; from special campaigns supporting small and micro-business operators to national conferences promoting high-quality development in the service sector—a culture of proactive action and hard work is taking shape nationwide. A series of major strategic tasks, reform measures, and key projects will be rolled out successively, injecting continuous momentum into high-quality economic development.
The promising start of the first quarter has provided momentum and boosted morale for the year ahead. Moving forward, as long as strategic focus is maintained, development confidence is strengthened, and all advantages are fully leveraged while policies are effectively implemented, the steady and improving economic trend can be consolidated and expanded. This will enable steady strides on the path of high-quality development, writing a new chapter in the Chinese path to modernization.
Comments