China's high-tech manufacturing, emerging services, and new forms of consumption gained momentum in May, supporting steady economic growth as employment and prices stayed broadly stable, official data showed Tuesday.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that production and supply improved steadily during this period, while the economy continued to move toward innovation-driven and quality-oriented growth.
In agriculture, summer grain production is in good shape this year and is expected to deliver a good harvest.
Industrial production also picked up, with value-added industrial output of enterprises above designated size rising 4.5 percent year-on-year, 0.4 percentage points faster than in April.
The industrial sector continued to move up the value chain, with faster progress in smart, green and integrated manufacturing. In the first five months of the year, high-tech manufacturing contributed nearly 40 percent of overall industrial growth, pointing to stronger industrial competitiveness.
The services sector also expanded steadily. China's services production index rose 4.4 percent year on year in May, accelerating from the previous month, with emerging services such as information transmission, software and information technology maintaining solid growth.
Consumption continued to shift toward higher-quality demand. From January to May, services retail sales increased 5.4 percent, as demand for services was further released. Online, digital and green consumption became new growth points.
The job market remained generally stable, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate standing at 5.1 percent in May, down 0.1 percentage points from April.
China's economy remains steady in May as manufacturing, services drive growth
