China's industry grows steadily in first three quarters

China’s industrial economy ran steadily in the first three quarters of this year, with production and efficiency growing in tandem, according to the State Council Information Office press conference on Tuesday briefing on industrial and information technology development.

Statistics show that from January to September, the value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size rose 5.3 percent year on year, and industry's contribution to economic growth held at around 35 percent.

In this context, the equipment industry continued to consolidate its role as a "ballast stone."

In the first three quarters, the equipment industry's value added grew 7.1 percent year on year, contributing 26.6 percent to industrial growth.

Supply capacity for high-end equipment strengthened, with output of industrial robots, numerically controlled machine tools, and new energy vehicles rising 29.1 percent, 13.5 percent, and 11 percent year on year, respectively.

National shipbuilding completions grew 50.7 percent year on year.

"In the first three quarters, the value-added of high-tech manufacturing above the designated size grew 14.3 percent year on year. The share of the equipment manufacturing industry in the value-added of industrial enterprises above the designated size rose 0.8 percentage points from the end of last year. The shares of mechanical and electrical products and high-tech products in total export value, denominated in RMB, increased by 3.8 and 4.9 percentage points respectively compared with the same period last year," said Wang Weiming, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

As the special action for "artificial intelligence plus manufacturing" is implemented in depth, China's smart factories are being built at a faster pace, with more than 13,000 advanced-level smart factories and over 500 excellence-level smart factories completed cumulatively.

China's industry grows steadily in first three quarters

The number of tax refund stores in China has exceeded 18,000, about four times the number recorded at the end of 2024, an official from the Ministry of Commerce said at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.

The announcement came amid the emergence of the new "China Haul" trend on social media, with international visitors unboxing items they bought in China and sharing their shopping experiences.

The new trend vividly reflects that "Shopping in China" is increasingly recognized and loved by tourists from other countries, said Yang Mu, director general of the Department of Market Operation and Consumption Promotion under the Ministry of Commerce, at the press conference.

Yang introduced that in recent years, building on the continued expansion of China's visa-free entry policy, a series of policy measures have been rolled out to make it easier for foreign visitors to shop in China, including the continuous upgrading of tax refund policies.

Meanwhile, the rapid growth in the number of tax refund stores has given a further boost to inbound spending, Yang said.

"China has kept improving its consumption environment. This includes supporting the upgrading and renovation of key commercial districts, increasing the number of departure tax refund stores, improving multilingual services, and enhancing payment convenience. Policy briefings have been held domestically, while overseas promotion has been carried out through Chinese embassies and consulates. Currently, the number of tax refund stores nationwide has exceeded 18,000, a fourfold increase over the end of 2024," Yang said.

China’s tax refund stores top 18,000: official