China’s Economy Realized a Moderate but Stable and Sound Growth in 2015

National Bureau of Statistics of China

19 January, 2016

In 2015, faced with complicated international environment and increasing downward pressure on the economy, the Central Party Committee and the State Council have maintained the strategic focus, comprehensively arranged both domestic and international tasks, adhered to the general work guideline of making progress while maintaining stability, actively adapted to and led the new normal, guided new practices with new theories, strived for new development with new strategies, innovated macro-regulation, deepened the structural reform and pushed forward “mass entrepreneurship and innovation”. As a result, the economy has achieved moderate but stable and sound development.  

According to the preliminary estimation, the gross domestic product (GDP) of China was 67,670.8 billion yuan in 2015, an increase of 6.9 percent at comparable prices. Specifically, the year-on-year growth of the first quarter was 7.0 percent, the second quarter 7.0 percent, the third quarter 6.9 percent, and the fourth quarter 6.8 percent. The value added of the primary industry was 6,086.3 billion yuan, up by 3.9 percent; the secondary industry 27,427.8 billion yuan, up by 6.0 percent; and the tertiary industry 34,156.7 billion yuan, up by 8.3 percent. The gross domestic product of the fourth quarter of 2015 went up by 1.6 percent on a quarter-on-quarter base.

1. Agricultural Production Enjoyed Another Harvest.

The total grain output in 2015 was 621.43 million tons, an increase of 14.41 million tons, up by 2.4 percent. The total output of summer grain was 141.12 million tons, an increase of 3.3 percent; the total output of early rice was 33.69 million tons, a decrease of 0.9 percent; the total output of autumn grain was 446.62 million tons, an increase of 2.3 percent. The total output of cereals was 572.25 million tons, an increase of 2.7 percent. The total output of cotton in 2015 was 5.61 million tons, a decrease of 9.3 percent. The total output of pork, beef, mutton and poultry was 84.54 million tons, a decrease of 1.0 percent, among which the total output of pork was 54.87 million tons, a decrease of 3.3 percent. The total output of poultry eggs in 2015 was 29.99 million tons, an increase of 3.6 percent; the total output of milk was 37.55 million tons, an increase of 0.8 percent.

2. The Upgrading of the Industry was Notable.

The total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size in 2015 was up by 6.1 percent at comparable prices. An analysis by types of ownership showed that the value added growth of the state holding enterprises was 1.4 percent; that of the collective enterprises, 1.2 percent; share-holding enterprises, 7.3 percent; and enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, 3.7 percent. In terms of sectors, the value added of the mining grew by 2.7 percent compared with last year, the manufacturing by 7.0 percent and the electricity, thermal power, gas and the production and supply of water by 1.4 percent. New industries were growing rapidly. In 2015, the value added of the new technology industry grew by 10.2 percent, 4.1 percentage points faster than industrial enterprises above the designated size, accounting for 11.8 percent of industrial enterprises above the designated size, 1.2 percentage points more than last year. Among the new technology industry, the manufacture of aerospace vehicles and equipment grew by 26.2 percent, manufacture of electronic and communication equipment by 12.7 percent, the manufacture of optical and photographic equipment by 10.6 percent and the manufacture of medicines by 9.9 percent. In 2015, the sales-output ratio of industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 97.6 percent. The export delivery value of these enterprises reached 11,858.2 billion yuan, down by 1.8 percent. In December, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was up by 5.9 percent year-on-year or up by 0.41 percent month-on-month.

From January to November, the profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size stood at 5,538.7 billion yuan, down by 1.9 percent year-on-year. The costs for per-hundred-yuan turnover of principal activities of the industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 85.97 yuan and the profit rate of the principal activities was 5.57 percent.

3. The Growth of Investment in Fixed Assets Slowed Down. 

In 2015, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) was 55,159.0 billion yuan, a nominal year-on-year growth of 10.0 percent over last year or a real growth of 12.0 percent after deducting price factors, 2.9 percentage points slower than last year in real term. Specifically, the investment by the state holding enterprises reached 17,893.3 billion yuan, a rise of 10.9 percent; private investment reached 35,400.7 billion yuan, up by 10.1 percent, accounting for 64.2 percent of the total investment. The investment in the primary industry was 1,556.1 billion yuan, up by 31.8 percent; the secondary industry 22,409.0 billion yuan, up by 8.0 percent; and the tertiary industry 31,193.9 billion yuan, an increase of 10.6 percent. The funds in place for investment in 2015 were 57,378.9 billion yuan, up by 7.7 percent. Specifically, the state budget went up by 15.6 percent, domestic loans down by 5.8 percent, self-raising funds up by 9.5 percent and utilization of foreign investment down by 29.6 percent. The total investment in newly-started projects in 2015 was 40,808.4 billion yuan, an increase of 5.5 percent. In December, investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) grew by 0.68 percent month-on-month.

The total investment in real estate development in 2015 was 9,597.9 billion yuan, a nominal growth of 1.0 percent (a real growth of 2.8 percent after deducting price factors). In particular, the investment in residential buildings went up by 0.4 percent. The floor space newly started was 1,544.54 million square meters, down by 14.0 percent. Specifically, the floor space of residential buildings went down by 14.6 percent. The floor space of commercial buildings sold was 1,284.95 million square meters, up by 6.5 percent. Specifically, the floor space of residential buildings sold was up by 6.9 percent. The total sales of commercial buildings were 8,728.1 billion yuan, up by 14.4 percent. Specifically, the sales of residential buildings were up by 16.6 percent. The land space purchased for real estate development was 228.11 million square meters, down by 31.7 percent. By the end of December, the floor space of commercial buildings for sale was 718.53 million square meters, up by 15.6 percent compared with that at the end of last year. The funds in place for real estate development enterprises reached 12,520.3 billion yuan, up by 2.6 percent over last year.

4. Market Sales Grew Rapidly.

In 2015, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 30,093.1 billion yuan, a nominal annual rise of 10.7 percent (a real growth of 10.6 percent after deducting price factors). Specifically, the retail sales of consumer goods by enterprises above the designated size stood at 14,255.8 billion yuan, up by 7.8 percent over the last year. Analyzed by different areas, the retail sales in urban areas reached 25,899.9 billion yuan, up by 10.5 percent, and the retail sales in rural areas stood at 4,193.2 billion yuan, up by 11.8 percent. Grouped by consumption patterns, the income of catering industry was 3,231.0 billion yuan, up by 11.7 percent; and the retail sales of goods were 26,862.1 billion yuan, up by 10.6 percent. In particular, the retail sales of the enterprises above the designated size reached 13,389.1 billion yuan, an increase of 7.9 percent. In December, the nominal growth of total retail sales of consumer goods was 11.1 percent over last year (a real growth of 10.7 percent after deducting price factors), or 0.82 percent month-on-month.

In 2015, the online retail sales reached 3,877.3 billion yuan, an increase of 33.3 percent compared with last year, among which the retail sales of physical goods was 3,242.4 billion yuan, an increase of 31.6 percent, accounting for 10.8 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods; the retail sales of non-physical goods was 634.9 billion yuan, an increase of 42.4 percent.

5. The Imports and Exports Decreased on a Year-on-Year Base.

The total value of imports and exports in 2015 was 24,584.9 billion yuan, a decrease of 7.0 percent. The total value of exports was 14,135.7 billion yuan, down by 1.8 percent; the total value of imports was 10,449.2 billion yuan, a decrease of 13.2 percent. The trade balance was 3,686.5 billion yuan in surplus. In December, the total value of imports and exports was 2,475.7 billion yuan, down by 0.5 percent year-on-year. Of this total, the value of exports was 1,428.9 billion yuan, up by 2.3 percent; and that of imports was 1,046.8 billion yuan, down by 4.0 percent.

6. The Consumer Price Increased Moderately.

In 2015, the consumer price went up by 1.4 percent over last year. Specifically, the price went up by 1.5 percent in urban areas and 1.3 percent in rural areas. Grouped by commodity categories, prices for food rose by 2.3 percent; tobacco, liquor and related articles up by 2.1 percent; clothing up by 2.7 percent; household facilities, articles and maintenance services up by 1.0 percent; health care and personal articles up by 2.0 percent; transportation and communication down by 1.7 percent; recreation, education, culture articles and services up by 1.4 percent and housing up by 0.7 percent. In terms of food prices, grain went up by 2.0 percent, oil or fat down by 3.2 percent, pork up by 9.5 percent and fresh vegetables up by 7.4 percent. In December, the consumer prices went up by 1.6 percent year-on-year, or 0.5 percent up month-on-month. In 2015, the producer prices for industrial products went down by 5.2 percent compared with last year, while the price in December dropped by 5.9 percent year-on-year and 0.6 percent month-on-month. The purchasing price for industrial producers was down by 6.1 percent compared with last year and in December, the price was down by 6.8 percent year-on-year and 0.7 percent month-on-month.

7. Residents’ Income Increased Steadily.

In 2015, the national per capita disposable income of residents was 21,966 yuan, a nominal growth of 8.9 percent over last year, or a real increase of 7.4 percent after deducting price factors. In terms of permanent residence, the per capita disposable income of urban households was 31,195 yuan, a nominal growth of 8.2 percent, or a real growth of 6.6 percent after deducting price factors. The per capita disposable income of rural residents was 11,422 yuan, up by 8.9 percent, or 7.5 percent in real terms. The per capita income of urban households was 2.73 times of the rural households, 0.02 less than last year. The median of the national disposal income was 19,281 yuan, a nominal increase of 9.7 percent. Taking the per capita disposable income of nationwide households by income quintiles, that of the low-income group reached 5,221 yuan, the lower-middle-income group 11，894 yuan, the middle-income group 19，320 yuan, the upper-middle-income group 29,438 yuan, and the high-income group 54,544 yuan. The Gini Coefficient for national income in 2015 was 0.462. The number of rural migrant workers in 2015 totaled 277.47 million, which was 3.52 million more than that in last year, or up by 1.3 percent. Specifically, the numbers of local and outside migrant workers were 108.63 million and 168.84 million respectively, up by 2.7 and 0.4 percent. The average monthly income of migrant workers was 3,072 yuan, up by 7.2 percent.

8. Economic Structure was Optimized and Upgraded.

The industrial structure was further optimized. In 2015, the value added of the tertiary industry accounted for 50.5 percent of GDP, 2.4 percentage points higher than last year, 10.0 percentage points higher than that of the secondary industry. The structure of domestic demand was further improved. In 2015, the final consumption expenditure accounted for 66.4 percent of GDP, 15.4 percentage points higher than last year. The balance of regional structure was strengthened. The value added of industries above the designated size in the central and western regions increased by 7.6 percent and 7.8 percent compared with last year, 0.9 percentage point and 1.1 percentage points faster than the eastern region respectively. Investment in fixed assets in the central region (excluding rural households) increased by 15.7 percent, 3.0 percentage points faster than the eastern region. Energy conservation and consumption reduction continued to make new achievements. In 2015, the energy consumption per unit of GDP decreased by 5.6 percent compared with last year.

9. Money Supply Maintained a Steady Growth.

By the end of December, the balance of broad money (M2) was 139.23 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.3 percent compared with that at the end of last year; the balance of narrow money (M1) was 40.10 trillion yuan, a rise of 15.2 percent; and the balance of cash in circulation (M0) was 6.32 trillion yuan, a rise of 4.9 percent. At the end of December, the amount of outstanding loans was 93.95 trillion yuan, while the amount of outstanding deposits was 135.70 trillion yuan. In 2015, the newly increased loans reached 11.72 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.81 trillion yuan; the newly increased deposits were 14.97 trillion yuan, or 1.94 trillion yuan more than last year. The social financing reached 15.41 trillion yuan.

10. Population and Employment Situation were Generally Stable.

By the end of 2015, the total population of mainland China was 1,374.62 million (including population of 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, and servicemen in CPLA; but not including residents in Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, Taiwan Province and overseas Chinese), an increase of 6.80 million over that at the end of 2014. In 2015, the number of births was 16.55 million and the birth rate was 12.07 in a thousand; the number of deaths was 9.75 million with a death rate of 7.11 in a thousand; the natural growth rate was 4.96 in a thousand, a decrease of 0.25 in a thousand. In terms of gender, the male population was 704.14 million, and female population was 670.48 million; the sex ratio of the total population was 105.02 (the female is 100); the sex ratio at birth was 113.51. Population at the working age of 16-59 was 910.96 million, a decrease of 4.87 million as compared with that at the end of 2014, and it accounted for 66.3 percent of the total population; population aged 60 and over was 222.00 million, which was 16.1 percent of the total population; population aged 65 and over was 143.86 million, accounting for 10.5 percent of the total population. In terms of urban-rural structure, the urban population was 771.16 million, an increase of 22.00 million over the last year; and the rural population was 603.46 million, a decrease of 15.20 million. The proportion of the urban population to the total population was 56.1 percent. The population who reside in areas other than their household registration and have been away from there for over 6 months reached 294 million, which was 3.77 million less than that in the last year. Specifically, the migrant population was 247 million, or 5.68 million less. At the end of 2015, the total number of employed persons was 774.51 million and the number of urban employed persons was 404.10 million.

Generally speaking, China’s economy has maintained within a proper range. The economic structure has been further optimized, the transformation and upgrading fastened, the new impetus accumulated and the people’s life improved. However, at the same time, we must be aware that the international environment is still complicated, the domestic structural transformation and upgrading are in a crucial period during which challenges need to be overcome and problems need to be resolved and the task of comprehensively deepening the reform is still heavy. For the next step, we must carefully study and implement the spirits of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the 3rd, 4th and 5th Plenary Sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee and the Central Economic Work Conference as well as the decisions and arrangements of the Central Party Committee and the State Council. We must adhere to the guideline of stable macro-policy, precise industrial policy, flexible micro-policy, practical reform policy and solid social policy, and focus on the supply-side structural reform so as to promote the national economy to maintain medium-to-high speed and move to medium-to-high end with medium-to-high income.

Notes:

1. To further promote the integration of China’s quarterly GDP accounting with international practices, the National Bureau of Statistics of China has implemented the reform on quarterly GDP accounting since the third quarter of 2015 by adopting quarterly accounting and publishing the related results.

2. The growth rate of gross domestic product, value added of industrial enterprises above designated size and its sub-items are real growth by using comparable prices. The growth rates of other indicators are nominal growth by using current prices unless otherwise specified.

3. According to the auto-revision function of the seasonal adjustment model, GDP in each quarter and the month-on-month changes of the value added of industrial enterprises above designated size, investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households), and total retail sales of consumer goods have been revised. The revised figures and figure for the fourth quarter GDP in 2015 as well as the month-on-month changes for other indicators in December 2014 are as follows:

The quarter-on-quarter growth of GDP in 2014 and 2015 were 1.6 percent, 1.8 percent, 1.8 percent, 1.7 percent, 1.3 percent, 1.9 percent, 1.8 percent and 1.6 percent respectively.

4. From 2012, the NBS implemented the new Industrial Classification for National Economic Activities (GB/T4754-2011). For more detailed information, please refer to the website of the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

5. Industrial enterprises above the designated size are industrial enterprises with annual revenue from principal activities over 20 million yuan.

6. Units above the designated size in total retail sales of consumer goods include wholesale enterprises, retail enterprises and lodging and catering enterprises with annual revenue from principal business over 20 million yuan, 5 million yuan and 2 million yuan respectively.

Online retail sales refer to the total retail sales of goods and services realized through internet trading platforms (including self-built websites and third-party platforms). Goods and services include physical goods and non-physical goods (e.g. virtual goods and services etc.).

The total retail sales of consumer goods include the online retail sales of physical goods, but not the non-physical goods. 

7. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the National Bureau of Statistics of China conducted the reform of integrated survey of urban and rural households, unifying the names, classification and statistical standards of urban and rural households and selecting 160 thousand urban and rural households across the country to conduct direct surveys. On its basis, per capita disposable income of national residents as well as urban and rural per capita disposable income were calculated according to the new definitions which makes urban and rural households comparable.

The median of per capita income of urban and rural households refer to the per capita income of household lied in the middle of all surveyed households which are ranked from low to high based on per capital income level.

The income of urban and rural households by quintiles refer to the per capita income of surveyed households which are divided into five levels averagely, ranking from low to high based on per capital income level; the top 20% households with the highest income are classified as high-income group. The other four levels are upper-middle-income group, middle-income group, lower-middle-income group and low-income group.

8. Migrant workers refer to those who work in urban areas, or in the non-agriculture sectors in local or other areas for 6 months and above with their permanent household registrations being in rural areas. Local migrant workers refer to those who work in the administration area where they register their households permanently. Outside migrant workers refer to those who work in areas other than the administration area where they register their households permanently.

9. Employed persons refer to persons aged 16 and over who have the ability to work and engage in gainful employment for remuneration payment or business income.

10. The regional data are classified by the eastern, central, western and northeastern regions.

11. Data of imports and exports are from the General Administration of Customs; data of money supply and deposits and loans and social financing are from the People’s Bank of China.

12. Due to the rounding-off reasons, the subentries may not add up to the aggregate totals.

In case of any differences between English translation and the original Chinese text, the Chinese edition shall prevail.