National Economy Showed Good Momentum of Recovery in August

National Bureau of Statistics of China

15 September, 2023

In August, under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, all regions and departments firmly implemented the decisions and arrangements made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while maintaining stability, fully and faithfully applied the new development philosophy on all fronts, accelerated efforts to foster a new pattern of development, focused on promoting high-quality development, implemented macro regulation in a targeted and forceful manner and spared no effort in stabilizing growth and employment and guarding against risks. As a result, the national economy witnessed accelerated recovery with production and supply increasing steadily, market demands improving gradually, employment and prices generally stable and high-quality development making new headways.

1. Industrial Production Accelerated and the Growth of Equipment Manufacturing Rebounded.

In August, the total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 4.5 percent year on year, 0.8 percentage points faster than that of the previous month; the month-on-month growth was 0.50 percent. In terms of sectors, the value added of mining increased by 2.3 percent year on year, manufacturing went up by 5.4 percent and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water grew by 0.2 percent. The value added of equipment manufacturing went up by 5.4 percent year on year, 2.1 percentage points faster than that of the previous month; the value added of high-tech manufacturing grew by 2.9 percent, 2.2 percentage points faster. An analysis by types of ownership showed that the value added of state holding enterprises was up by 5.2 percent year on year; that of share-holding enterprises was up by 5.7 percent; that of enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan was up by 0.8 percent; and that of private enterprises was up by 3.4 percent. In term of products, the output of solar cells, service robots and optoelectronic devices went up by 77.8 percent, 73.7 percent and 29.9 percent year on year respectively. In the first eight months, the total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size went up by 3.9 percent year on year. In August, the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 49.7 percent, 0.4 percentage points higher than that of the previous month; the Production and Operation Expectation Index was 55.6 percent.

2. Service Sector Grew Fast with Modern Service Industries Demonstrating Sound Momentum of Growth.

In August, the Index of Services Production increased by 6.8 percent year on year, 1.1 percentage points faster than that of the previous month. Specifically, that of accommodation and catering, that of information transmission, software and information technology services, that of transport, storage and post, that of leasing and business services and that of financial intermediation grew by 16.1 percent, 11.5 percent, 9.0 percent, 8.1 percent and 7.2 percent year on year respectively. In the first eight months, the Index of Services Production increased by 8.1 percent year on year. In the first seven months, the business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size went up by 7.2 percent year on year. In August, the Business Activity Index for Services was 50.5 percent and the Business Activity Expectation Index for Services was 57.8 percent. Specifically, the Business Activity Index for railway transportation, air transportation, accommodation, catering, telecommunication, broadcast, television and satellite transmission services, ecological protection and public facilities management and culture, sports and entertainment stayed within the high expansion range of 55 percent and above.

3. Recovery of Market Sales Accelerated and Consumption of Services Grew Fast.

In August, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3,793.3 billion yuan, up by 4.6 percent year on year, 2.1 percentage points faster than that of the previous month, or up by 0.31 percent month on month. Analyzed by different areas, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 3,297.4 billion yuan, up by 4.4 percent year on year; and that in rural areas reached 495.9 billion yuan, up by 6.3 percent. Grouped by types of consumption, the retail sales of goods were 3,372.1 billion yuan, up by 3.7 percent; the income of catering was 421.2 billion yuan, up by 12.4 percent. Of the total retail sales of commodities by businesses above the designated size, the retail sales of cosmetics, communication equipment, gold, silver and jewelry and furniture went up by 9.7 percent, 8.5 percent, 7.2 percent and 4.8 percent respectively. In the first eight months, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 30,228.1 billion yuan, up by 7.0 percent year on year. The online retail sales totaled 9,538.7 billion yuan, up by 12.1 percent year on year. Specifically, the online retail sales of physical goods were 7,982.1 billion yuan, up by 9.5 percent, accounting for 26.4 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods. The retail sales of services went up by 19.4 percent year on year in the first eight months.

4. Investment in Fixed Assets Continued to Scale up and Investment in High-Tech Industries Maintained Fast Growth.

In the first eight months, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 32,704.2 billion yuan, up by 3.2 percent year on year, 0.2 percentage points lower than that of the first seven months. Specifically, the investment in infrastructure grew by 6.4 percent year on year, that in manufacturing grew by 5.9 percent, and that in real estate development dropped by 8.8 percent. The floor space of commercial buildings sold was 739.49 million square meters, down by 7.1 percent year on year; the total sales of commercial buildings were 7,815.8 billion yuan, down by 3.2 percent. By industry, the investment in the primary industry went down by 1.3 percent year on year, that in the secondary industry up by 8.8 percent, and that in the tertiary industry up by 0.9 percent. The private investment went down by 0.7 percent. The investment in high-tech industries grew by 11.3 percent year on year, of which the investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 11.2 percent and 11.5 percent respectively. In terms of high-tech manufacturing, the investment in manufacturing of medical equipment, measuring instrument and meter and in manufacturing of electronic and communication equipment grew by 17.5 percent and 12.8 percent respectively. In terms of high-tech services, the investment in services for transformation of scientific and technological achievements and in professional technical services went up by 42.1 percent and 28.3 percent respectively. In August, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) grew by 0.26 percent month on month.

5. Decline of Imports and Exports of Goods Narrowed Year on Year and Trade Structure Continued to Optimize.

In August, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 3,588.7 billion yuan, down by 2.5 percent year on year. The decline narrowed by 5.8 percentage points compared with that of the previous month. Specifically, the total value of exports was 2,038.4 billion yuan, down by 3.2 percent; the total value of imports was 1,550.4 billion yuan, down by 1.6 percent. The trade balance was 488.0 billion yuan in surplus. In the first eight months, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 27,083.3 billion yuan, a decline of 0.1 percent year on year. Among that, the total value of exports was 15,466.7 billion yuan, up by 0.8 percent; the total value of imports was 11,616.6 billion yuan, down by 1.3 percent. In the first eight months, the imports and exports of general trade increased by 1.7 percent year on year, accounting for 65.4 percent of the total value of imports and exports, 1.2 percentage points higher than that of the same period last year. The imports and exports by private enterprises grew by 6.0 percent, accounting for 52.9 percent of the total value of imports and exports, 3.0 percentage points higher than that of the same period last year. The exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 3.6 percent, accounting for 58.0 percent of the total value of exports.

6. Employment was Generally Stable and Urban Surveyed Unemployment Rate Dropped.

In August, the urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, down by 0.1 percentage points over that of the previous month. The surveyed unemployment rate of population with local household registration was 5.3 percent and that of population with non-local household registration was 4.8 percent, of which, the rate of population with non-local agricultural household registration stood at 4.4 percent. The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.3 percent, down by 0.1 percentage points over that of the previous month. The employees of enterprises worked 48.7 hours per week on average.

7. Consumer Price Switched from Decline to Increase Year on Year and Decline of Producer Prices for Industrial Products Narrowed Year on Year.

In August, the consumer price index (CPI) went up by 0.1 percent year on year, while that of the previous month was down by 0.3 percent; the month-on-month growth was 0.3 percent. Grouped by commodity categories, prices for food, tobacco and alcohol went down by 0.5 percent year on year; clothing up by 1.1 percent; housing up by 0.1 percent; articles and services for daily use down by 0.5 percent; transportation and communication down by 2.1 percent; education, culture and recreation up by 2.5 percent; medical services and health care up by 1.2 percent; and other articles and services up by 3.8 percent. In terms of food, tobacco and alcohol prices, prices for pork were down by 17.9 percent, fresh vegetables down by 3.3 percent, grain up by 0.6 percent and fresh fruits up by 1.3 percent. The core CPI excluding the prices of food and energy went up by 0.8 percent year on year. In the first eight months, the consumer price index went up by 0.5 percent year on year.

In August, the producer prices for industrial products dropped by 3.0 percent year on year, with the decline narrowed by 1.4 percentage points compared with that of the previous month; the month-on-month increase was 0.2 percent. The purchasing prices for industrial producers dropped by 4.6 percent year on year, with the decline narrowed by 1.5 percentage points compared with that of the previous month; the month-on-month increase was 0.2 percent. In the first eight months, the producer prices for industrial products and the purchasing prices for industrial producers went down by 3.2 percent and 3.6 percent year on year respectively.

Generally speaking, in August, major indicators witnessed marginal improvement and national economy showed good momentum of recovery with high-quality development making solid progress and positive factors accumulated. However, we should be aware that many unstable and uncertain factors in the external environment still exist, the domestic demand remains insufficient and the foundation for economic recovery needs to be further consolidated. At the next stage, we must follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, adhere to the general principle of pursuing progress while maintaining stability, and focus on the top priority of advancing high-quality development. Centering on the tasks of stabilizing growth and employment and guarding against risks, we must facilitate the implementation of policies and measures, continue to improve economic performance, boost endogenous driving force, improve social expectations and defuse risks and hidden dangers, in a bid to effectively upgrade the quality and appropriately expand the quantity of the economy.

Notes:

1. The growth rates of value added of industrial enterprises above designated size and its sub-items are calculated at comparable prices. Both are real growth rates. The growth rates of other indicators are nominal growth by using current prices unless otherwise specified.

2. Industrial enterprises above designated size are industrial enterprises with annual revenue from principal business over 20 million yuan.

As industrial enterprises above the designated size change every year, to ensure the data comparability between years, the coverage of the data of the same period last year used for estimating year-on-year growth rates like that of products output, are as consistent as possible with the current period and different from the coverage of the data published last year. The main reasons are as follows: First, the statistical units change. Every year, some enterprises are included in the survey as they meet the threshold, while some enterprises are removed from the survey because of downsizing. Besides, enterprises that have newly gone into operation, been bankrupted, canceled their registrations or had their business licenses revoked also cause impact. Second, duplicated outputs across regions of enterprise groups have been removed based on the ad hoc surveys since duplication is found in the products output of some enterprise groups.

3. The Index of Services Production is the change of production in the reporting period compared to the base period with the price factors deducted.

4. The scope of the total retail sales of consumer goods include all legal entities, establishments and self-employed individuals involved in retail trades or providing catering services. Specifically, businesses above the designated size include wholesale enterprises (businesses, self-employed individuals), retail enterprises (businesses, self-employed individuals) and lodging and catering enterprises (businesses, self-employed individuals) with annual revenue from principal business over 20 million yuan, 5 million yuan and 2 million yuan respectively.

As the wholesale, retail, and lodging and catering enterprises (businesses, self-employed individuals) above the designated size change every year, to ensure the data comparability between years, the coverage of the data of the same period last year used for estimating year-on-year growth rates like that of the retail sales of consumer goods by businesses above the designated size is consistent with the current period and different from the coverage of data published last year. The main reasons are: some enterprises (businesses, self-employed individuals) are included in the survey as they meet the threshold, while some enterprises (businesses, self-employed individuals) are removed from the survey because of downsizing every year. Besides, enterprises (businesses, self-employed individuals) that have newly gone into operation, been bankrupted, canceled their registrations or had their business licenses revoked also cause impact.

Online retail sales refer to the 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).

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

5. The retail sales of services refer to the total value of services directly provided by enterprises (establishments, self-employed units) to individuals and other units for non-production and non-operating purposes in the form of transactions. It aims to reflect the value of services with the nature of consumption sold by service providers in monetary terms, including the retail sales of services in transportation, accommodation, catering, education, health, sports, entertainment, and other fields.

6. The growth rates of investment in fixed assets are calculated on a comparable basis.

7. Data of imports and exports are from the General Administration of Customs.

8. Employed people refer to people aged 16 and above who have the ability to work and engage in gainful employment for remuneration payment or business income.

9. 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.