City view of Chengdu city in SW China. /CFP
Editor's note: Zhu Fangfei is a researcher and director at the Research Department of the Institute for Public Policy of Zhejiang University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
On August 15, the National Bureau of Statistics released several economic indicators for July. In July, the value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size nationwide grew by 5.1 percent year-on-year; the total retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 3.7757 trillion yuan, up by 2.7 percent year-on-year; and the total value of imports and exports of goods rose by 6.5 percent year-on-year. Overall, the economy remained stable with steady progress, production demands continued to recover, employment and prices remained generally stable, and new growth drivers continued to be fostered and expanded, all contributing to solid advancements in high-quality development.
A overpass bridge in Shanghai. /CFP
In July, the national economy continued to develop steadily, with positive factors accumulating.
Progress was made in production and supply while stability was maintained. In terms of the industrial sector, industrial manufacturing continued to grow at a rapid pace, with faster growth in equipment and high-tech manufacturing. In July, the value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size increased by 5.1 percent year-on-year, down by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. It registered a month-on-month growth of 0.35 percent. Specifically, the value added of equipment manufacturing increased by 7.3 percent, and that of high-tech manufacturing grew by 10.0 percent, 0.4 and 1.2 percentage points higher than in the previous month, respectively. The service sector continued to recover, with modern services performing well. In July, the Index of Services Production increased by 4.8 percent year-on-year, 0.1 percentage points faster than the previous month. In particular, information transmission, software, and information technology services grew by 12.6 percent and leasing and business services increased by 9.0 percent year-on-year, outpacing the overall Index of Services Production by 7.8 and 4.2 percentage points, respectively.
Market demand continuously expanded. Domestically, consumer demand continued to expand. In July, the total retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 3.78 trillion yuan, up by 2.7 percent year-on-year, 0.7 percentage points higher than that in the previous month. It grew by 0.35 percent month-on-month. In terms of foreign trade, demand continued to grow. In July, the total value of imports and exports of goods reached 3.68 trillion yuan, up by 6.5 percent year-on-year, 0.7 percentage points higher than that in the previous month. Specifically, the total value of exports was 2.14 trillion yuan, up by 6.5 percent; the total value of imports was 1.54 trillion yuan, up by 6.6 percent.
Busy night market in Kaifeng city of Henan Province in central China. /CFP
The scale of imports and exports hit a record high for the same period. According to customs statistics, China's total value of imports and exports in the first seven months of this year stood at 24.83 trillion yuan, up by 6.2 percent year-on-year. Specifically, the total value of exports was 14.26 trillion yuan, up by 6.7 percent; the total value of imports was 10.57 trillion yuan, increasing by 5.4 percent; and the trade surplus was 3.69 trillion yuan, expanding by 10.6 percent.
New growth drivers were continuously fostered and expanded. From January to July, the national investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) amounted to 28.76 trillion yuan, up by 3.6 percent year-on-year; excluding the investment in real estate development, national investment in fixed assets grew by 8.0 percent. It is worth noting that the investment in high-tech industries increased by 10.4 percent year-on-year, with high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services investments growing by 9.7 percent and 11.9 percent, respectively. In high-tech manufacturing, investment in aviation, spacecraft, and equipment manufacturing and investment in computer and office equipment manufacturing surged by 37.7 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively. In high-tech services, investment in professional technical services and investment in e-commerce services rose by 25.4 percent and 17.9 percent, respectively.
Qingdao port in East China's Shandong Province. /CFP
Employment was generally stable. From January to July, the surveyed urban unemployment rate on average in China stood at 5.1 percent, down by 0.2 percentage points over the same period last year. In July, the nationwide surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, up by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, but down by 0.1 percentage points from the same month last year.
Prices continued to stabilize and rebound. In July, the national consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.5 percent year-on-year, with the growth rate being 0.3 percentage points higher than that in the previous month. Among the eight categories of commodities and services that make up the CPI, prices of seven categories increased year on year, except for a slight decline in transportation and communication prices. The core CPI excluding the price of food and energy grew by 0.4 percent year-on-year. From January to July, the national CPI rose by 0.2 percent year-on-year.
Overall, the impressive data in multiple dimensions have boosted people's confidence. July's economic data indicates that China's economic development has a solid foundation and strong resilience. The economic prospects are clearly promising in the long term with robust support.