China's economy demonstrated steady momentum toward innovation-led and high-quality development in August, according to Fu Linghui, spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), at a press conference on Tuesday in Beijing.
He said that industrial production in China accelerated in August, with significant growth in equipment and high-tech manufacturing sectors.
"In August, the total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 5.2 percent year on year, 0.7 percentage points faster than that of last month, or up by 0.54 percent month on month," he said.
Breaking it down by sectors, the value added of mining decreased by 1.4 percent year on year, that of manufacturing grew by 6.1 percent, and that of production and supply of electricity, heat power, gas and water went up by 4.9 percent. The value added of equipment manufacturing increased by 12.1 percent year on year and that of high-tech manufacturing increased by 16.7 percent, 6.9 percentage points and 11.5 percentage points faster, respectively, than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size as a whole, according to Fu.
Industrial enterprises above the designated size are those with annual revenue from principal business reaching 20 million yuan (about 2.98 million U.S. dollars) or more.
Fu added that China's service sector continued to thrive in August, particularly in modern services.
"In August, the index of services production grew by 4.1 percent year on year. In terms of sectors, that of the information transmission, software and information technology services, the leasing and business services, and the transport, storage and postal services grew by 9.6 percent, 9.0 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively, year on year. In the first eight months, the index of services production increased by 4.7 percent year on year," Fu said.
China's market sales also expanded in August, Fu said, with retail growth reflecting a robust consumer landscape. The total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3,982.4 billion yuan (593.46 billion U.S. dollars), marking a year-on-year increase of 0.4 percent, though it slightly decreased by 0.13 percent month on month.
Export and import activities saw strong growth last month, with optimized trade structures, according to Fu.
"In August, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 4,645.5 billion yuan (692.27 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 19.8 percent year on year, 0.6 percentage points faster than that of the previous month. Specifically, the total value of exports was 2,727.4 billion yuan (406.44 billion U.S. dollars), up by 18.6 percent; and the total value of imports was 1,918.1 billion yuan (285.84 billion U.S. dollars), up by 21.7 percent," Fu said.
The surveyed urban unemployment rate in China averaged 5.2 percent for the first eight months of 2026, remaining unchanged from the same period last year, he said.
In August, the consumer price index increased by 0.8 percent year on year, 0.3 percentage points higher than that of the previous month, or up by 0.4 percent month on month.
Moreover, the producer prices for industrial products went up by 3.8 percent year on year, 0.3 percentage points faster than that of the previous month, or up by 0.4 percent month on month. The purchasing prices for industrial producers went up by 5.8 percent year on year, or up by 0.3 percent month on month.
Chinese economy sustains stable performance in August
