China's Economy: Data shows steady growth, continued pressure in May
Updated 17:29, 09-Jul-2019
Mixed economic data released Friday shows China's economy faces continued downward pressure, but also strong resilience. That's according to the latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics. CGTN's Zou Yun brings us a look at what's in store for the nation's economy given the challenges that lie ahead.
Maintaining the trend of steady development against headwinds from last month. New data shows China's value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 5 percent year on year, slower than last month
In May, the jobs market remained steady, with the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas at 5 percent, which was the same from the prior month. Moreover, fixed-asset investment rose 5.6 percent in the first five months of the year, half a percentage point lower than the January to April period, marking growth deceleration for 3 consecutive months.
While the growth of some indicators eased, a spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics pointed out that the structure of China's economy continues to optimize.
FU LINGHUI, SPOKESPERSON NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS "In May, the national economy sustained the momentum of progress in overall stability, continuing to perform within a reasonable range. Meanwhile we must be aware of the increasing instabilities and uncertainties from external environment."
While the trade tension between the world's two largest economies still lingers, China's trade data remains robust. In May, the total value of imports and exports increased nearly 3 percent year on year, with exports up by nearly 8 percent and imports down by 2.5 percent. Fu said that the slower growth of some key economic figures is just normal short term fluctuation, and the overall outlook for China's economy remains optimistic.
FU LINGHUI, SPOKESPERSON NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS "First of all, China has tremendous market potential, and then plenty of incentives from the country's opening up. Finally there's also great potential generated from industry upgrades."
ZOU YUN BEIJING "The first quarter's stable economic development has laid a solid foundation for annual growth. Experts say that China should be capable of meeting the growth target for this year's economic and social development. ZY, CGTN, BJ."