China's economy remains stable as high-tech manufacturing and foreign trade pick up

China's economy remained broadly stable in August, with growth increasingly supported by high-tech manufacturing, services and foreign trade, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday.

Industrial production gained momentum during the month. Value-added industrial output rose 5.2% year on year, accelerating by 0.7 percentage points from July. Equipment manufacturing expanded 12.1%, while high-tech manufacturing grew 16.7%.

New growth drivers continued to stand out. Output of lithium-ion batteries surged 57.2% year on year, while industrial robot and 3D-printing equipment production increased 34.6% and 29.9%, respectively.

The services sector also maintained steady growth. The national services production index rose 4.1% year on year in August. Information transmission, software and IT services grew 9.6%, while leasing and business services increased 9.0%. Transport, storage and postal services expanded 4.8%.

Foreign trade was another major bright spot. China's total imports and exports of goods reached 4.65 trillion yuan ($647 billion) in August, up 19.8% year on year. Exports rose 18.6%, while imports increased 21.7%. In the first eight months of the year, total goods trade grew 17.6%, with exports of mechanical and electrical products rising 21.9%.

Domestic consumption grew at a more moderate pace. Retail sales of consumer goods totaled 3.98 trillion yuan in August, up 0.4% year on year. From January to August, combined retail sales of goods and services increased 2.5%, while service retail sales grew 4.9%. Online service retail sales rose 5.1%.

Investment remained under pressure, but high-tech sectors continued to attract capital. Fixed-asset investment, excluding investment by rural households, declined 7.2% in the first eight months of the year. In contrast, investment in high-tech industries increased 5.2%. Investment in information services jumped 22.7%, while that t in aerospace and aircraft equipment manufacturing, and electronic and communications equipment manufacturing rose 14.9% and 6.9%, respectively.

The data points to an economy that remains stable overall while its growth structure continues to evolve, with high-tech manufacturing, digital services and foreign trade emerging as increasingly important sources of momentum, said the NBS.