Forging ahead and scaling new heights! On January 19, the National Bureau of Statistics released China's 2025 economic report card, presenting a series of encouraging data points. Preliminary calculations indicate that the gross domestic product (GDP) for 2025 reached 140,187.9 billion yuan, ascending to a new level above 140 trillion yuan. Calculated at constant prices, this represents a 5.0% growth compared to the previous year, with the per capita GDP exceeding $13,000 for the third consecutive year. Throughout the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's economic aggregate successively surpassed the milestones of 110 trillion, 120 trillion, 130 trillion, and 140 trillion yuan, achieving "four consecutive leaps" with an average annual growth rate of 5.4%, continuing to outpace other major global economies.
"This is a truly remarkable achievement, fully demonstrating the stable and progressive trend, the resilience under pressure, and the vitality oriented towards innovation and quality of the Chinese economy," said Kang Yi, Commissioner of the National Bureau of Statistics. Looking specifically at the year 2025, the Chinese economy advanced under pressure towards innovation and quality, successfully fulfilling all major expected targets. The "stable" foundation was consolidated, evidenced by the steady increase in economic output, an overall stable employment situation, and foreign exchange reserves exceeding $3.3 trillion.
The "progressive" strides became more forceful. The economic structure was adjusted and optimized, with the value-added of high-tech manufacturing above the designated size rising to account for 17.1% of the total industrial value-added. Final consumption expenditure contributed over half of the economic growth. Reform and opening-up deepened continuously, as the total value of goods imports and exports grew by 3.8% compared to the previous year. Livelihood safeguards were robust and effective, with the per capita disposable income of residents increasing by 5.0% in real terms.
New drivers of growth were cultivated and expanded. The intensity of nationwide R&D expenditure reached 2.8%, and the value-added of digital product manufacturing above the designated size increased by 9.3% year-on-year. The "resilient" characteristics became increasingly prominent. High-tech, high-value-added products became the main contributors to export growth, with the export value of high-tech products surging by 13.2% compared to the previous year.
Reviewing the entire five-year span of the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the Chinese economy effectively navigated a series of major risks and challenges, steadily growing and strengthening through persistent effort. The economic foundation became more solid, enhancing its ability to withstand risks. Grain output stabilized above the 1.4 trillion jin mark for two consecutive years, and the value-added of the manufacturing sector remained the world's largest for the 16th consecutive year.
The quality of high-quality development improved and its pace steadied. New breakthroughs were made in innovation-driven development; during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, nationwide R&D expenditure grew at an average annual rate of 10%, and the value-added of high-tech manufacturing above the designated size grew at an average annual rate of 9.2%. Green transformation showcased a new outlook, with the share of non-fossil energy consumption increasing from 16% in 2020 to over 20% in 2025. New achievements were made in improving people's livelihoods, as the average annual real growth of per capita disposable income of residents was 5.4% during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, keeping pace with economic growth.
"During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China's development environment will face profound and complex changes, but the fundamentals of long-term economic improvement remain unchanged. The strengthening momentum of innovation-driven development and the deepening advancement of reform and opening-up will support the achievement of new results in high-quality development," Kang Yi stated.
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