China's economy has entered 2025 on a strong footing continuing its growth momentum, said Fu Linghui, spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), at a press conference in Beijing on Monday.
Fu's comments followed a media inquiry about the highlights and positive developments in China's economic performance during the first two months of 2025.
Fu emphasized that with the implementation of a more proactive fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy, the synergy between both existing and new measures has strengthened.
"In January and February, China's economy has maintained steady growth, extending the positive trend of rebound and growth in the fourth quarter of last year. In terms of production, the total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 5.9 percent year on year in January and February, 0.1 percentage points faster than the full-year rate of 2024. Notably, the value-added output of equipment manufacturing saw a 10.6 percent increase, significantly contributing to the overall industrial growth. The service production index went up 5.6 percent year over year, 0.4 percentage points faster than the full-year rate of 2024," Fu said.
"On the demand side, the total retail sales of consumer goods in January and February grew by 4 percent year on year, a growth rate that was 0.5 percentage points higher than that of last year as a whole. Domestic trips during the Spring Festival rose by 5.9 percent in the first two months, while transaction volumes on tourism service platforms surged by over 20 percent. Ski resorts across the country saw a 22.8 percent increase in visitors during the 2024-2025 winter season, and a Chinese animated film broke multiple box office records," Fu emphasized.
"The investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) rose by 4.1 percent in the first two months, 0.9 percentage points faster than last year. In terms of employment, the urban unemployment rate averaged 5.3 percent during January and February, virtually unchanged from the same period last year," Fu continued.
"Regarding new energy productive forces, the total value-added of high-tech manufacturing enterprises above the designated size saw a 9.1 percent increase year over year in the first two month, with the production of new energy vehicles jumping 47.7 percent despite last year's high base," the spokesman said.
"Market expectations have improved, spurred by more proactive macroeconomic policies and breakthroughs in emerging fields like artificial intelligence. President Xi Jinping's speech at a symposium on private enterprises has significantly boosted the confidence among private businesses and the broader society. In February, the Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) of China's manufacturing industry was 50.2 percent, while the non-manufacturing business activity index stood at 50.4 percent, up 1.1 and 0.2 percentage points, respectively, from January," he added, referring to the Feb 17 symposium on private enterprises that gathered the heads of China's leading enterprises, such as Alibaba, Huawei, DeepSeek, and BYD.
China's key economic data shows robust growth momentum in early 2025: NBS
China's economy enters 2025 on strong footing with key data showing robust growth momentum
