National Economy Got off to a Robust and Promising Start in the First Two Months

National Bureau of Statistics of China

16 March 2026

In January and February, 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 strictly implemented the decisions and arrangements made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, implemented more proactive and effective macro policies, and stepped up counter- and cross-cyclical adjustments. All regions and departments further boosted domestic demand, improved supply, and optimized the allocation of new resources while making the best use of existing ones. As a result, the production and supply accelerated, market demand maintained a steady momentum of growth, employment and prices were generally stable, and new quality productive forces developed and thrived. The national economy got off to a robust and promising start.

1. Industrial Production Accelerated and Equipment Manufacturing and High-Tech Manufacturing Showed Good Momentum of Growth.

In the first two months, the total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 6.3 percent year on year, 1.1 percentage points faster than that of last December. In terms of sectors, the value added of mining went up by 6.1 percent year on year, manufacturing up by 6.6 percent, and the production and supply of electricity, heat power, gas and water up by 4.7 percent. The value added of equipment manufacturing increased by 9.3 percent year on year and that of high-tech manufacturing increased by 13.1 percent, 3.0 percentage points and 6.8 percentage points faster than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size respectively. An analysis by types of ownership showed that the value added of state holding enterprises was up by 4.2 percent year on year; that of share-holding enterprises was up by 6.9 percent; that of enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan was up by 4.0 percent; and that of private enterprises was up by 7.4 percent. In terms of products, the output of 3D printing devices, lithium-ion batteries and industrial robots grew by 54.1 percent, 42.6 percent and 31.1 percent year on year respectively. In February, the total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size went up by 0.83 percent month on month. In February, the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 49.0 percent, and the Production and Operation Expectation Index was 53.2 percent, 0.6 percentage points higher than that of last month.

2. Service Sector Grew Rapidly and Modern Services Enjoyed Fast Development.

In the first two months, the Index of Services Production grew by 5.2 percent year on year, 0.2 percentage points faster than that of last December. Specifically, that of information transmission, software and information technology services, leasing and business services, finance, transport, storage and postal services and hotels and catering services grew by 10.1 percent, 8.2 percent, 7.0 percent 6.3 percent and 5.4 percent respectively. In February, the Business Activity Index for Services was 49.7 percent, 0.2 percentage points higher than that of last month and the Business Activity Expectation Index for Services was 55.8 percent. Specifically, the Business Activity Index for hotels, catering and culture, sports and entertainment stayed within the high expansion range of 60.0 percent and above.

3. Growth of Market Sales Picked Up and Service Retails Grew Fast.

In the first two months, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 8,607.9 billion yuan, up by 2.8 percent year on year, 1.9 percentage points faster than that of last December. Analyzed by different areas, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 7,444.9 billion yuan, up by 2.7 percent; and that in rural areas reached 1,163.0 billion yuan, up by 3.2 percent. Grouped by consumption patterns, the retail sales of goods were 7,581.5 billion yuan, up by 2.5 percent; the income of catering was 1,026.4 billion yuan, up by 4.8 percent. Sales of basic living goods and certain upgraded goods enjoyed fast growth. The retail sales of clothes, shoes, hats and textiles, of grain, oil and food, of communication equipment, and of gold, silver and jewelry by enterprises above the designated size went up by 10.4 percent, 10.2 percent, 17.8 percent and 13.0 percent year on year respectively. In February, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 0.81 percent month on month. In the first two months, the retail sales of services went up by 5.6 percent year on year, 0.1 percentage points faster than that of last year. Specifically, that of communication information services, tourism consultation and rental services, and cultural, sports and leisure services grew fast. In the first two months, the online retail sales of goods and services reached 3,254.6 billion yuan, up by 9.2 percent year on year. Specifically, the online retail sales of goods were 2,081.2 billion yuan, up by 10.3 percent, accounting for 24.2 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods. The online retail sales of services totaled 1,173.4 billion yuan, up by 7.3 percent.

4. Investment in Fixed Assets Shifted from Decline to Increase and Investment in Infrastructure Grew Fast.

In the first two months, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 5,272.1 billion yuan, up by 1.8 percent year on year, while that of the previous year was down by 3.8 percent; the investment in fixed assets was up by 5.2 percent with the investment in real estate development deducted. Specifically, the investment in infrastructure grew by 11.4 percent year on year, that in manufacturing grew by 3.1 percent, and that in real estate development declined by 11.1 percent. The floor space of newly-built commercial buildings sold was 92.93 million square meters, down by 13.5 percent year on year; the total sales of newly-built commercial buildings were 818.6 billion yuan, down by 20.2 percent. By industry, the investment in the primary industry increased by 17.4 percent year on year, that in the secondary industry was up by 5.4 percent, and that in the tertiary industry was down by 0.4 percent. The private investment declined by 2.6 percent year on year, narrowed by 3.8 percentage points compared with that of last year; or increased by 1.0 percent with the investment in real estate development deducted. The investment in high-tech industries grew by 5.1 percent year on year, of which the investment in aerospace vehicle and equipment manufacturing, in research, development and design services and in information services grew by 20.2 percent, 20.6 percent and 16.5 percent respectively. In February, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) increased by 0.39 percent over that of the previous month.

5. Imports and Exports of Goods Witnessed Fast Growth and Trade Structure Continued to Optimize.

In the first two months, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 7,732.1 billion yuan, up by 18.3 percent year on year, 13.4 percentage points faster than that of last December. Specifically, the value of exports was 4,617.8 billion yuan, up by 19.2 percent, and the value of imports was 3,114.3 billion yuan, up by 17.1 percent. The imports and exports of general trade went up by 13.5 percent year on year. The imports and exports with the Belt and Road partner countries grew by 20.0 percent. The imports and exports by private enterprises went up by 22.8 percent. The exports of mechanical and electrical products went up by 24.3 percent.

6. Employment was Generally Stable and Urban Surveyed Unemployment Rate Maintained the Same Level Year on Year.

In the first two months, the urban surveyed unemployment rate averaged 5.3 percent, the same as the same period last year. In February, the urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.3 percent, 0.1 percentage points higher than that of the previous month. The surveyed unemployment rate of population with local household registration was 5.4 percent and that of population with non-local household registration was 5.0 percent, among which, the rate of the population with non-local agricultural household registration was 5.2 percent. The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.1 percent. The employees of enterprises worked 48.1 hours per week on average.

7. Increase of Consumer Price Expanded and Decline of Producer Prices for Industrial Products Narrowed.

In the first two months, the consumer price index (CPI) went up by 0.8 percent year on year. Specifically, it increased by 0.2 percent in January and 1.3 percent in February. Grouped by commodity categories, in the first two months, prices for food, tobacco, alcohol and dining out went up by 0.6 percent year on year; clothing up by 1.9 percent; housing down by 0.1 percent; articles and services for daily use up by 2.7 percent; transportation and communication down by 2.1 percent; education, culture and recreation up by 1.0 percent; medical services and health care up by 1.8 percent; and other articles and services up by 14.3 percent. Among the prices for food, tobacco, alcohol and dining out, the price for pork went down by 11.2 percent, grain down by 0.2 percent, fresh fruits up by 4.5 percent, and fresh vegetables up by 8.8 percent. The core CPI excluding the prices of food and energy went up by 1.3 percent year on year. The consumer price index went up month-on-month by 0.2 percent in January and 1.0 percent in February respectively.

In the first two months, the producer prices for industrial products went down by 1.2 percent year on year. In January, the producer prices for industrial products went down by 1.4 percent year on year, or up by 0.4 percent month on month. In February, it went down by 0.9 percent year on year, or up by 0.4 percent month on month. In the first two months, the purchasing prices for industrial producers dropped by 1.1 percent year on year.

Generally speaking, the national economy got off to a good start with notable recovery of the main economic indicators in January and February. However, we should be aware that the evolving external environment is exerting a great impact on China and the geopolitical risks keep rising. At home, we still face quite a few problems and challenges, both old and new, in economic development and transformation, and some enterprises are facing difficulties in their operations. At the next stage, we must follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the guiding principles from the 20th National Congress of the CPC and the plenary sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, and act on the guidelines of the Central Economic Work Conference and the “two sessions” (National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference). We must fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts, move faster to foster a new pattern of development and promote high-quality development. We must adhere to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, adopt more proactive and effective macro policies, and develop new quality productive forces in light of local conditions. We must provide greater support to keep employment, enterprises operations, markets and expectations stable, and promote higher-quality economic growth while achieving an appropriate increase in economic output.

Notes:

1. The growth rates of value added of industrial enterprises above the 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 the 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 units involved in retail trades or providing catering services. Specifically, businesses above the designated size include wholesale enterprises (businesses, self-employed units), retail enterprises (businesses, self-employed units) and lodging and catering enterprises (businesses, self-employed units) 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 units) 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 units) are included in the survey as they meet the threshold, while some enterprises (businesses, self-employed units) are removed from the survey because of downsizing every year. Besides, enterprises (businesses, self-employed units) that have newly gone into operation, been bankrupted, canceled their registrations or had their business licenses revoked also cause impact.

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. To reflect the development of the online consumption market in a more comprehensive way, the statistical indicators for online consumption have been improved with the coverage of the online service platforms expanded to strengthen the measurement of the online services retail sales in line with the evolving momentum of online consumption. Accordingly, the original indicator “online retail sales” has been adjusted to “online retail sales of goods and services”, with the definition unchanged and the statistical coverage expanded. The indicator “online retail sales of physical goods” has been adjusted to “online retail sales of goods,” with the definition and statistical coverage unchanged. In addition, “online retail sales of services” has been introduced as a new indicator. The online retail sales of goods and services are not comparable with the online retail sales.

As the coverage of key platforms included in the statistics of online retail sales of goods and services changes every year, to ensure the comparability of data between years, the data coverage for the same period last year used for estimating the year-on-year growth rates of online retail sales of goods and services is consistent with that of the current period and differs from the data coverage released last year. The main reasons are as follows: new platforms are included in the survey every year, while platforms that no longer meet the requirements of the statistical programs are removed from the survey.

7. Investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) refers to the workload and related costs for the construction and acquisition of fixed assets completed within a certain period of time, expressed in monetary terms.

According to the current statistical programs, investment in infrastructure includes investment in fixed assets in the following industries: production and supply of electricity and heat, production and supply of gas, production and supply of water, railway transportation, road transportation, water transportation, air transportation, pipeline transport, multi-modal transportation and forwarding agency, loading, unloading and delivery, postal services, telecommunications, radio, TV and satellite transmission services, internet and related services, water conservancy management, ecological conservation and environmental governance, and management of public facilities. The growth rate of investment in infrastructure is calculated on a comparable basis.

According to the reform of the statistical program and methodology of investment and the requirements of statistical law enforcement, the data of investment in fixed assets of the same period last year have been revised. The growth rates of investment in fixed assets are calculated on a comparable basis.

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

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.