China's 5.2-percent year-on-year GDP expansion in the first three quarters has shown the stability, impetus and resilience of the country's economy, said a China Media Group (CMG) commentary published on Monday.
An edited English-language version of the commentary is as follows:
So far this year, Chinese economy has achieved hard-won progress in face of complex situations with mounting external pressures and numerous internal challenges.
According to preliminary estimates, China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.2 percent year on year in the first three quarters of 2025. So, what characteristics of China's economy are reflected behind this prominent figure?
First of all, its growing economic stability.
In comparison with other countries' economic growth, China's growth rate remains among the top in the world's major economies. The country's economic aggregate in the third quarter alone surpassed the total annual GDP of Germany -- the world's third-largest economy -- in 2024. This has shown that China is the most stable and reliable driving force for global economic development.
While comparing with itself, China's GDP growth rate in the first three quarters increased by 0.2 and 0.4 percentage points, respectively, compared with the whole of 2024 and the same period of 2024, indicating a steady and progressive economic performance.
To be more specific, in the first nine months of this year, the added value of its industrial firms of designated size – with a revenue of 20 million yuan and above per annum - and the total retail sales of consumer goods went up by 6.2 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, year on year.
The surveyed urban unemployment rate on average in China stood at 5.2 percent in the first three quarters, the same as in the first half of the year. Meanwhile, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector, as well as the index for production and business activity expectations in September both rose from August.
These numbers have shown that the major macro indicators remained generally stable in the first three quarters, laying a solid foundation for achieving the annual economic development goals.
In addition to stability, impetus is another key feature.
China has been vigorously developing new quality productive forces this year in accordance with local conditions.
In the first three quarters, the value-added growth rates of the equipment manufacturing industry and the high-tech manufacturing industry were 3.5 and 3.4 percentage points higher, respectively, than those of industrial firms above designated size as a whole. According to the latest report of the World Intellectual Property Organization, China's innovation index ranked among the global top 10 for the first time in 2025.
From the emergence of multiple large AI models to the accelerated application of autonomous driving in daily life, the deep integration between the innovation chain and industrial chain has injected new impetus into China's economy and boosted global innovation.
What's more important in China's economy is its strong resilience.
Despite the prevalence of trade protectionism, the frequent occurrence of geopolitical conflicts and international trade frictions and other issues this year, China's imports and exports grew by four percent year on year in the first three quarters, marking a growth for eight consecutive quarters.
As China's exported products continue to improve in terms of quality and novelty, its circle of foreign trade partners has also kept expanding.
In the first seven months of this year, China was one of the top three trading partners of 166 countries and regions around the world, an increase of 14 compared with the same period last year.
Many people have been wondering the rationale behind China's steady economic development. If fact, it is the result of the coordinated interaction among multiple advantages -- including supply, demand, and talent. Meanwhile, it is also impossible without the strong and supportive policies.
China has been implementing more proactive and effective macroeconomic policies this year by rolling out measures to facilitate service consumption and strengthening coordination of related projects, thus achieving a synergistic policy effect.
China will continue unwaveringly pursuing its own goals and providing new opportunities for the world with its certainty of high-quality development.
China’s 5.2-pct GDP growth shows its economy’s stability, impetus, resilience: commentary
China’s 5.2-pct GDP growth shows its economy’s stability, impetus, resilience: commentary
