China's national economy steadily improved in the first half of 2024, making new progress in high-quality development, official at China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.
China's gross domestic product (GDP) reached around 61.68 trillion yuan (about 8.65 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first half of this year, growing 5 percent year on year, according to the latest data released by the NBS on Monday.
The added value of primary industries was 3.066 trillion yuan (about 422 billion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 3.5 percent. The added value of secondary industries reached 23.653 trillion yuan (about 3.26 trillion U.S. dollars) an increase of 5.8 percent while for tertiary industries added value grew by 4.6 percent to 34.9646 trillion yuan (about 4.8 trillion U.S. dollars).
China's new quality productive forces are developing faster, according to the NBS, with the added value of industrial enterprises above a designated size, an important economic indicator, increasing by 6.0 percent year on year.
China's retail sales of consumer goods totaled nearly 23.6 trillion yuan (about 3.25 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first half, up 3.7 percent year on year, with online shopping, online meal ordering, cross-border e-commerce and green consumption growing fast. Consumption continued to play a major role in driving growth, with final consumption contributing 60.5 percent to economic expansion in the first half, contributing 3 percentage points to the GDP growth.
Fixed-asset investment rose 3.9 percent year on year in the first half to nearly 24.54 trillion yuan (about 3.37 trillion U.S. dollars), with investments in high-tech industries leading the way.
The country optimized its trade structure during the period, the NBS said, with the total value of import and export of goods increasing by 6.1 percent year on year. Employment and prices were generally stable, and residents' incomes continued to increase.
"For an economy with such a large volume like ours, achieving a medium-to-high-speed growth rate of about 5 percent is commendable and remarkable. Compared to other countries worldwide, China's economic performance remains relatively strong. In the first quarter, China's economic growth rate outpaced major economies such as the United States, Europe, and Japan. Based on a comprehensive analysis of both domestic and international conditions in the second quarter of this year, it is expected that China's economic growth rate will continue to lead in the first half of the year, serving as a crucial engine and stabilizing force for global economic growth," said Liu Aihua, spokeswoman of the National Bureau of Statistics.
"China is the second-largest economy in the world, with such a large scale. Given the uncertain external environment, achieving these results is indeed something to be proud of," said Liu Chunsheng, an associate professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics.
This year, China has accelerated its industrial transformation towards "green" development, replacing old growth drivers in traditional industries with new drivers in up and coming sectors.
In the first half of the year, the added value of high-tech manufacturing industries above a designated size accounted for 15.8 percent of the added value of industries above a designated size, an increase of 0.6 percentage points over the previous quarter. The output of intelligent green new products such as integrated circuits, service robots, new energy vehicles and solar cells all maintained double-digit growth. New technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence have spawned new consumption scenarios, with online retail sales of physical goods increasing by 8.8 percent year on year.
"For example, represented by sectors such as unmanned aerial vehicles, low-altitude economy, new energy vehicles, green economy, and large language models, both manufacturing and service industries have seen representative enterprises making continuous progress and development, providing new growth points for the Chinese economy," said Liu.
"With the ongoing recovery of external demand, issuance of ultra-long special treasury bonds, large-scale equipment upgrades, and trade-ins of consumer goods, along with continued efforts from fiscal, taxation, and financial policies to support high-quality development, the positive factors contributing to China's economic growth are gradually increasing. This is expected to further consolidate and strengthen economic recovery," said Wang Liwei, deputy director of the Development Strategy and Planning Research Office of the Economic Research Institute of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research.
China makes progress in high-quality development: official
