In the first four months of 2026, China's economy maintained steady progress as proactive macro policies helped support jobs, businesses, markets, and confidence, a spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.
Fu Linghui, NBS spokesman and chief economist, made the statement at a press conference in Beijing, adding that production and demand expanded while foreign trade stayed resilient in the period.
"From January to April, the national economy maintained stable while achieving steady growth. More proactive and effective macro policies were implemented, with a focus on stabilizing employment, enterprises, markets and expectations. Production and supply continued to grow at a steady pace, consumption and sales expanded further, and foreign trade showed strong resilience. Overall employment and prices remained stable, new engines of growth continued to build momentum, and the drive toward higher-quality development gained new strength," said Fu.
According to the spokesman, from January to April, industrial output surged, modern services expanded steadily, market sales grew further, and strong growth in imports and exports helped optimize trade structure.
"Industrial production grew at a relatively fast pace, with the equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing industries experiencing rapid growth. From January to April, the added value of industrial enterprises above the designated size across the country increased by 5.6 percent year on year. The services sector expanded steadily. Modern services continued to perform well. From January to April, the national service production index increased by 4.9 percent year on year, with expanded market scale and accelerated growth in service retail. In the first four months, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 16,494.1 billion yuan, increasing by 1.9 percent year on year. The import and export of goods grew rapidly, with continuously optimized trade structure. From January to April, the total value of import and export of goods reached 16,225.2 billion yuan, increasing by 14.9 percent year on year," said Fu.
Industrial enterprises above the designated size refer to those each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.92 million U.S. dollars).
China's economy maintains steady progress in first four months
The 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting will be held from May 22-23 in Suzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, with preliminary consultations and seminars kicking off on Monday.
Multiple consultations have commenced, including discussions on the joint statement to be issued at the meeting and ways to promote cooperation in digital trade.
Additionally, the "Big Market for All: Export to China" Suzhou special event and the Suzhou products promotion event opened Monday.
Experts emphasized that the minister's meeting will play a timely role in advancing regional economic integration and tackling emerging trade challenges through deeper cooperation in digital and green sectors.
"APEC is the highest-level and most influential economic cooperation mechanism in the Asia-Pacific region. On the 20th anniversary of the vision for a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), the 2026 Suzhou APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting will play a positive role in safeguarding the multilateral trading system, stabilizing Asia-Pacific cooperation, and leading global open development, countering the increasingly intensifying wave of trade protectionism," said Yuan Qian, deputy director of the trade and investment research division of the Institute of World Economics and Politics, which is under the administration of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"At the same time, as a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation accelerates, this meeting takes cooperation in emerging areas such as digital and green as important content, better aligning with the trend of global technological innovation and development, countering global economic growth pressures, and opening up new spaces for regional cooperation and development," the expert added.
Terms such as digital economy, electronic bills of lading, and green supply chains appear frequently in the agenda of the APEC trade ministers' meeting.
"Although electronic bills of lading may seem small, their impact on international trade is very critical. They can improve customs clearance efficiency and reduce customs clearance costs. If promoted, it will not only affect these developed economies and large traders, but more importantly, it will significantly enhance the ability of some small and medium-sized economies and some developing countries to participate in international trade and improve their trade efficiency," said Zhou Mi, deputy director of the Institute of American and Oceania, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, which is under the administration of the Ministry of Commerce.
This year, a key topic of the meeting is the digital economy.
"In the past, people thought the digital economy was an option; now it has become a must. Because having advantages in digital economy development means having greater advantages in international trade. They (member economies) have seen some of China's practices and approaches in the digital economy field and hope to use such a platform to further improve their own technology and strengthen coordination with China," said Zhou.
Founded in 1989, the APEC is the highest-level, broadest and most influential economic cooperation mechanism in the Asia-Pacific region. About 700 representatives from 21 APEC economies and international organizations will gather in Jiangsu for the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting.
Preliminary consultations begin for APEC trade ministers' meeting
