China's GDP grows 5 pct in 2024

China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew five percent year on year to reach 134.9 trillion yuan in 2024, meeting the annual target of around five percent, official data showed Friday.

In 2024, China's economy witnessed steady progress and major targets, and tasks of economic and social development were achieved successfully, director of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Kang Yi told a press conference in Beijing.

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China's GDP grows 5 pct in 2024

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China's GDP grows 5 pct in 2024

According to preliminary estimates, China’s GDP reached 134.9084 trillion yuan in 2024, an increase of five percent over the previous year at constant prices, said Kang.

Specifically, the added value of the primary industry was 9.1414 trillion yuan, marking a 3.5 percent increase over last year, that of the secondary industry was 49.2087 trillion yuan, growing 5.3 percent, and that of the tertiary industry was 76.5583 trillion yuan, going up by 5.0 percent, according to the NBS data.

Quarterly, the GDP for the first quarter went up by 5.3 percent year on year. The growth rate moderated to 4.7 percent in the second quarter and 4.6 percent in the third quarter before picking up to 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter.

The GDP for the fourth quarter increased by 1.6 percent on a quarterly basis, the NBS data showed.

The total output of grain in 2024 was 706.50 million tons, an increase of 11.09 million tons or 1.6 percent over the previous year.

In 2024, the total added value of industrial enterprises above the designated size increased by 5.8 percent year on year. In terms of sectors, the added value of equipment manufacturing went up by 7.7 percent, and that of high-tech manufacturing up by 8.9 percent, 1.9 percentage points and 3.1 percentage points faster, respectively, than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size as a whole.

Last year, the service sector registered continued growth with its added value up 5 percent year on year and modern services enjoyed sound development.

In 2024, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 48.7895 trillion yuan, up 3.5 percent over the previous year, and online sales were active.

The investment in fixed assets scaled up, reaching 51,437.4 billion yuan, up 3.2 percent over the previous year and the investment in high-tech industries grew rapidly by 8.0 percent year on year.

Last year, employment was generally stable, and the urban surveyed unemployment rate went down.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced Wednesday it had launched the 89th wave of Operation True Promise 4, carrying out strikes against U.S. and Israeli targets in the region.

The IRGC said in a statement that Iran and various resistance fronts, through coordinated operations, used heavy missiles, attack drones, and rockets to strike U.S. military bases and Israeli targets.

The statement said the operation targeted Israeli military facilities and assembly points in Eilat, Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, and other locations, and claimed that, according to local sources, it had caused significant Israeli casualties.

The IRGC also stated that it had hit a location in Bahrain housing 80 U.S. troops, and Iranian ballistic missiles struck a U.S. helicopter formation at a base in Kuwait, destroying one helicopter and damaging others.