The sales revenue of enterprises in China improved significantly in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the economic operation showed many bright spots, according to the latest value-added tax (VAT) invoice data released by the State Administration of Taxation.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the sales revenue of the manufacturing industry increased by 3.8 percent year on year, 2.4 percentage points higher than the growth rate in the third quarter, the VAT invoice data shows.
Specifically, the sales revenue of the equipment manufacturing industry increased by 8.3 percent year on year. In particular, the sales revenue of the railway, ship, aerospace equipment manufacturing industry, computer communication equipment manufacturing industry, and general equipment manufacturing industry increased rapidly in the fourth quarter, up by 16.5 percent, 10.9 percent and 8 percent year on year respectively.
Meanwhile, emerging industries continued to grow rapidly. The sales revenue of high-tech industries increased by 10.6 percent year on year, and that of the core industries of the digital economy grew by 5.5 percent compared with the same period last year.
The latest VAT invoice data also shows that driven by the large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs, the amount of machinery and equipment purchased by enterprises nationwide in the fourth quarter of 2024 increased by 7.5 percent year on year, 2.2 percentage points higher than the growth rate in the third quarter.
The retail sales of home audio-visual equipment and daily household appliances increased by 38.1 percent and 75.4 percent year on year respectively. In addition, furniture retail and sanitary ware retail related to home decoration went up by 39.4 percent and 26.3 percent year on year respectively, both significantly faster than the growth rate in the third quarter.
With policies in place to support projects for implementing major national strategies and building security capacity in key areas, the sales revenue of the civil engineering construction industry in the fourth quarter, which reflects infrastructure investment, experienced significantly faster year-on-year growth in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter. Especially with the implementation of a package of debt reduction policies, the sales revenue of the civil engineering construction industry in December increased by 7 percent year on year.
VAT invoice data shows China's economic highlights in Q4 2024
