China's economy maintained overall stable growth from January to July, despite external uncertainties and conflicts. According to data from China's National Bureau of Statistics, the growth of new economic drivers continued, while the structure of the economy improved.
Official data released on Monday showed that value added in industrial production in China increased year-on-year by 5.3 percent. In high-tech manufacturing, the growth was significantly faster, reaching 13.8 percent.
Specifically, the production of 3D printing equipment, lithium-ion batteries, and industrial robots grew strongly. The production of 3D printing equipment increased year-on-year by 52.3 percent, the production of lithium-ion batteries by 40.2 percent, and industrial robots by 28.5 percent.
Industrial production also grew across major sectors. Value added in the mining sector increased by 2.5 percent, manufacturing rose by 5.6 percent, and the production and supply of electricity, heat, gas, and water increased by 5.4 percent.
By ownership structure, value added in state-owned and state-controlled enterprises increased by 3.9 percent. Private enterprises saw growth of 4.5 percent. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing reached 49.2 percent in July.
From January to June, the total profits of Chinese industrial enterprises above a certain size reached 3.948 trillion yuan, approximately $581.67 billion. This represented year-on-year growth of 18.7 percent.
Statistic Sun Xiao from the National Bureau of Statistics stated that from January to July, emerging industries, represented by high-tech manufacturing and digital product production, contributed approximately 50 percent to the growth of industrial production. Compared to the first half of the year, this was an increase of about three percentage points.
Consumption remained an important indicator of economic development. Total retail sales of goods and services increased year-on-year by 2.6 percent in the first seven months of the year. Sales of services increased by five percent, while sales of goods rose by 1.1 percent.
Total retail sales of consumer goods reached 28.8 trillion yuan, approximately $4.24 trillion, from January to June. This was an increase of 1.2 percent year-on-year.
Online sales also grew. Online retail sales of goods and services reached 11.7 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 4.8 percent. Online sales of goods increased by 4.6 percent, and online sales of services increased by 5.2 percent.
Foreign trade experienced significant growth. The total value of imports and exports reached 30.1264 trillion yuan in the first seven months of the year, an increase of 17.3 percent year-on-year.
Exports amounted to 17.44 trillion yuan, an increase of 14 percent. Imports reached 12.6864 trillion yuan, representing a growth of 22 percent. Total trade increased by 10.2 percent.
Trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative grew by 15.5 percent. Foreign trade of private enterprises increased by 17.2 percent, accounting for 56.9 percent of the total value of imports and exports.
```htmlExports of mechanical and electrical products increased by 21.2 percent, accounting for 63.8 percent of the total value of Chinese exports. In July alone, the total value of imports and exports reached 4.658 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.2 percent year-on-year. Exports in July amounted to 2.7125 trillion yuan, while imports totaled 1.9454 trillion yuan.
The labor market also remained stable. The average urban unemployment rate, according to a sample survey, was 5.2 percent for the first seven months of the year, which is within the annual target. This figure was consistent with both the first half of the year and the same period last year.
In July alone, the urban unemployment rate reached 5.2 percent, an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to June. The National Bureau of Statistics attributed this increase to seasonal factors.
China has set a goal to maintain the urban unemployment rate, according to sample surveys, at around 5.5 percent by 2026 and to create more than 12 million new jobs in cities. In July, it also released a five-year plan for human resources development and social security, which aims, among other things, to help 25 million unemployed urban workers find new jobs and provide job support to 6.5 million people who are having difficulty finding work.
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