New growth drivers represented by high-end manufacturing, the digital economy and modern services, contributed over 40 percent to China's economic growth in the first half of 2026, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday.
The country's economy has remained on a stable footing, with its underlying trend toward innovation-driven and high-quality development unchanged, Mao Shengyong, deputy head of the NBS, told a press conference in Beijing.
"According to preliminary estimates, new growth drivers -- represented by high-end manufacturing, the digital economy, and modern services -- contributed over 40 percent to economic growth in the first half of this year. The economy's distinct shift toward innovation-driven and high-quality development has become apparent, and the overall development trend is accelerating," Mao said.
In the January-June period, the value added of high-tech manufacturing enterprises above the designated size (enterprises each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan, or 3 million U.S. dollars) increased by 13.3 percent year on year, according to NBS data.
Specifically, the value-added of the output of aerospace equipment manufacturing and electronic and communication equipment manufacturing grew by 16.3 percent and 17 percent respectively year on year.
The country's artificial intelligence (AI) related industries, including artificial intelligence (AI)-powered industries, such as integrated circuit manufacturing and intelligent in-vehicle equipment manufacturing, all posted more than 30 percent growth in the first six months.
The pace of green transition has accelerated. In the first half of this year, the retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles exceeded 60 percent for three consecutive months, leading to a 39.3 percent increase in the production of lithium-ion batteries.
"In recent years, the pace of the transition from old to new growth drivers has accelerated. New growth drivers have been growing stronger and are increasingly shouldering the bulk of China's economy," Mao said.
New growth drivers contribute over 40 percent to China's economic growth in January-June: authorities
Rally participants gathered in the Japanese capital on Aug 9, which also marked the 81st anniversary of the Nagasaki atomic bombing, to voice strong opposition to the government's push to boost defense spending and revise the war-renouncing Article 9 of the national Constitution.
Holding anti-war placards, chanting anti-war slogans, protesters warned that remilitarizing the nation would betray its pacifist ideals and endanger future generations.
"Defense spending keeps increasing. Based on Article 9 of the Constitution, Japan pledged never to wage war again, yet it keeps strengthening its military. I find this extremely dangerous. They are also trying to revise Article 9. So I believe that for the sake of future young people and children, Article 9 must never be revised. Japan decided never to repeat the mistakes of waging a war after its defeat in WWII. I think we should continue to safeguard that commitment," said a rally participant.
For many in the crowd, the shadow of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains a powerful moral compass as they believe that militarization offers no path forward for a nation that knows the devastation of war firsthand.
"Japan is the only country in the world to have suffered atomic bombings. Yet now Japan is going to deploy missiles. I believe Japan must never possess nuclear weapons," said another rally participant.
"I believe Japan has no future if it goes down the path of militarization. Nuclear weapons are absolutely bad for Japan," said a third woman, also a rally participant.
Beyond moral objections, some demonstrators said that Japan's economic vulnerabilities articulate that saber-rattling is a luxury the country cannot afford.
"I can't help but wonder what on earth a country with only a 36 percent food self-sufficiency rate would be fighting with. I have always been opposed to war, and I'm deeply dissatisfied with what the Takaichi administration is doing now," said another rally participant.
Other rally participants said that seeing revision of the Constitution could unleash unchecked military expansion, stripping away the very safeguards that have kept Japan at peace for eight decades.
"Article 9 of the Constitution is the key. If the nature of the Self-Defense Forces is elevated to a level beyond collective self-defense, which is explicitly written into the Constitution, it will allow the authority of the Self-Defense Forces to expand without limit. So no matter what, I want to prevent this from happening," said one more rally participant.
Japanese citizens rally against Takaichi's military expansion, constitutional revision
