National Economy Got off to a Good Start in the First Quarter

National Bureau of Statistics of China

16 April, 2026

In the first quarter, 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 fully implemented the decisions and arrangements made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, accelerated carrying out more proactive and effective macro policies, focused on keeping employment, enterprises operations, markets and expectations stable, and expedited the cultivation of new quality productive forces. As a result, the growth of production and supply accelerated, market demand continued to improve, employment was generally stable, market prices picked up moderately, and high-quality development advanced with new and positive momentum. The national economy got off to a good start with the development showing greater resilience and vitality.

According to preliminary estimates, the gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter reached 33,419.3 billion yuan, up by 5.0 percent year on year at constant prices, 0.5 percentage points faster than that of the fourth quarter of 2025. By industry, the value added of the primary industry was 1,194.1 billion yuan, up by 3.8 percent year on year; that of the secondary industry was 11,613.5 billion yuan, up by 4.9 percent; and that of the tertiary industry was 20,611.7 billion yuan, up by 5.2 percent. The GDP for the first quarter grew by 1.3 percent quarter on quarter.

1. Agricultural Production Showed Good Momentum and Animal Husbandry was Generally Stable.

In the first quarter, the value added of agriculture (crop farming) registered a year-on-year increase of 3.7 percent. The winter wheat maintained a stable sown area with seedlings continuing to grow in good conditions. The spring farming and preparation work went on smoothly. According to the national planting intention survey, the intended sown area for grain was generally stable; among which, the area for rice was basically the same and the area for corn kept stable with increase. In the first quarter, the output of pork, beef, mutton and poultry was 26.62 million tons, up by 4.8 percent year on year. Of this total, the output of pork and poultry grew by 4.2 percent and 9.3 percent respectively while that of beef and mutton dropped by 1.4 percent and 2.0 percent respectively. The output of milk grew by 3.4 percent and that of eggs dropped by 3.1 percent. In the first quarter, the number of pigs slaughtered was 200.26 million, up by 2.8 percent year on year. By the end of the first quarter, the number of pigs registered in stock was 423.58 million, up by 1.5 percent.

2. Growth of Industrial Production Accelerated and Equipment Manufacturing and High-Tech Manufacturing Registered Fast Growth.

The total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 6.1 percent year on year in the first quarter, 1.1 percentage points faster than that of the fourth quarter of 2025. In terms of sectors, the value added of mining increased by 6.0 percent year on year, that of manufacturing grew by 6.4 percent, and that of production and supply of electricity, heat power, gas and water up by 4.3 percent. The value added of equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing went up by 8.9 percent and 12.5 percent year on year respectively, 2.8 percentage points and 6.4 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 4.8 percent year on year; that of share-holding enterprises was up by 6.6 percent; that of enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan was up by 3.9 percent; and that of private enterprises was up by 6.1 percent. In terms of products, the production of 3D printing devices, lithium-ion batteries and industrial robots grew by 54.0 percent, 40.8 percent and 33.2 percent year on year respectively. In March, the value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size went up by 5.7 percent year on year, or up by 0.28 percent month on month. In March, the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 50.4 percent, 1.4 percentage points higher than that of the previous month. The Production and Operation Expectation Index was 53.4 percent. In the first two months, the total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size were 1,024.6 billion yuan, up by 15.2 percent year on year.

3. Service Sector Grew Fast and Modern Services Enjoyed Sound Momentum of Growth.

In the first quarter, the value added of service sector went up by 5.2 percent year on year. Specifically, the value added of leasing and business services, information transmission, software and information technology services, finance, transport, storage and postal services, and accommodation and catering grew by 12.2 percent, 10.6 percent, 6.5 percent, 4.3 percent and 4.3 percent respectively. In March, the Index of Services Production increased by 5.0 percent year on year. Specifically, the Index of Services Production of information transmission, software and information technology services, leasing and business services and finance went up by 11.8 percent, 10.1 percent and 6.7 percent respectively. In the first two months, the business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size grew by 7.4 percent year on year. In March, the Business Activity Index for Services stood at 50.2 percent, 0.5 percentage points higher than that of the previous month. The Business Activity Expectation Index for Services was 54.8 percent. Among which, the Business Activity Index for industries like railway transportation, telecommunication, broadcast, television and satellite transmission services, monetary and financial services, and insurance stayed within the high expansion range of 55.0 percent and above.

4. Growth of Market Sales Accelerated and Service Retails Grew Fast.

In the first quarter, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 12,769.5 billion yuan, up by 2.4 percent year on year, 0.7 percentage points faster than that of the fourth quarter of 2025. Analyzed by different areas, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 11,057.4 billion yuan, up by 2.3 percent year on year, and that in rural areas stood at 1,712.1 billion yuan, up by 3.1 percent. Grouped by consumption patterns, the retail sales of goods were 11,307.2 billion yuan, up by 2.2 percent; the income of catering was 1,462.3 billion yuan, up by 4.2 percent. Sales of basic living goods and certain upgraded goods enjoyed fast growth. The retail sales of grain, oil and food, of clothes, shoes, hats and textiles, of communication equipment, and of gold, silver and jewelry by enterprises above the designated size went up by 10.0 percent, 9.3 percent, 20.8 percent and 12.6 percent year on year respectively. In March, the total retail sales of consumer goods went up by 1.7 percent year on year, or up by 0.14 percent month on month. In the first quarter, the retail sales of services went up by 5.5 percent year on year, maintaining the same level as that of the previous year. Specifically, that of communication information services, tourism consultation and rental services, and cultural, sports and leisure services grew fast. In the first quarter, the online retail sales of goods and services reached 4,977.4 billion yuan, up by 8.0 percent year on year. Specifically, the online retail sales of goods were 3,161.4 billion yuan, up by 7.5 percent, accounting for 24.8 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods; the online retail sales of services totaled 1,816.0 billion yuan, up by 8.8 percent.

5. Investment in Fixed Assets Grew Steadily and Investment in Infrastructure Grew Fast.

In the first quarter, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 10,270.8 billion yuan, up by 1.7 percent year on year, while that of the previous year was down by 3.8 percent; the investment in fixed assets was up by 4.8 percent with the investment in real estate development deducted. Specifically, the investment in infrastructure grew by 8.9 percent year on year; that in manufacturing grew by 4.1 percent; and that in real estate development declined by 11.2 percent. The floor space of newly-built commercial buildings sold was 195.25 million square meters, down by 10.4 percent year on year; the total sales of newly-built commercial buildings were 1,726.2 billion yuan, down by 16.7 percent. By industry, the investment in the primary industry went up by 15.9 percent year on year, that in the secondary industry up by 5.8 percent, and that in the tertiary industry down by 1.0 percent. The private investment went down by 2.2 percent year on year, a decline narrowed by 4.2 percentage points compared with that of the previous year; or up by 1.3 percent with the investment in real estate development deducted. The investment in high-tech industries grew by 7.4 percent year on year, of which the investment in computer and office device manufacturing, aerospace vehicle and equipment manufacturing, and information services grew by 28.3 percent, 19.0 percent and 20.9 percent respectively. In March, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) grew by 0.52 percent month on month.

6. Imports and Exports of Goods Grew Fast and Trade Structure Continued to Optimize.

In the first quarter, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 11,838.0 billion yuan, an increase of 15.0 percent year on year. Specifically, the total value of exports was 6,846.7 billion yuan, up by 11.9 percent; the total value of imports was 4,991.3 billion yuan, up by 19.6 percent. The imports and exports of general trade went up by 9.0 percent year on year. The imports and exports with the Belt and Road partner countries grew by 14.2 percent. The imports and exports by private enterprises increased by 16.2 percent, accounting for 57.3 percent of the total value of imports and exports. The exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 18.3 percent. In March, the total value of imports and exports was 4,104.6 billion yuan, up by 9.2 percent year on year. 

7. Growth of Consumer Price Expanded and Producer Prices for Industrial Products Continued to Rebound.

In the first quarter, the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.9 percent year on year, 0.4 percentage points higher than that of the fourth quarter of 2025. Grouped by commodity categories, prices for food, tobacco, alcohol and dining out went up by 0.5 percent year on year; clothing up by 1.8 percent; housing down by 0.2 percent; articles and services for daily use up by 2.3 percent; transportation and communication down by 1.1 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 14.1 percent. In terms of prices for food, tobacco, alcohol and dining out, the price for pork went down by 11.3 percent, grain down by 0.3 percent, fresh fruits up by 4.3 percent, and fresh vegetables up by 7.6 percent. The core CPI excluding the prices of food and energy went up by 1.2 percent year on year. In March, the CPI went up by 1.0 percent year on year, or down by 0.7 percent month on month.

In the first quarter, the producer prices for industrial products went down by 0.6 percent year on year, a decline narrowed by 1.5 percentage points compared with that of the fourth quarter of 2025. Specifically, the prices in March went up by 0.5 percent year on year, while that in the previous month was down by 0.9 percent; the month-on-month growth was 1.0 percent. In the first quarter, the purchasing prices for industrial producers went down by 0.5 percent year on year. Specifically, the prices increased by 0.8 percent year on year in March, while they were down by 0.7 percent in February; the month-on-month growth was 1.2 percent.

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

In the first quarter, the urban surveyed unemployment rate averaged 5.3 percent, maintaining the same level as that of the same period last year. In March, the urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.4 percent. The surveyed unemployment rate of population with local household registration was 5.4 percent and that of population with non-local household registration was 5.3 percent, of which, the rate of population with non-local agricultural household registration stood at 5.7 percent. The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.3 percent. The employees of enterprises worked 48.1 hours per week on average. By the end of the first quarter, the number of rural migrant workers totaled 188.38 million, up by 0.2 percent year on year.

9. Household Income Continued to Increase and Income Growth of Rural Households Outpaced That of Urban Households.

In the first quarter, the nationwide per capita disposable income of households was 12,782 yuan, a nominal growth of 4.9 percent year on year; the real growth was 4.0 percent after deducting price factors. In terms of permanent residence, the per capita disposable income of urban households was 16,549 yuan, a nominal growth of 4.2 percent year on year and a real growth of 3.2 percent; the per capita disposable income of rural households was 7,433 yuan, a nominal growth of 6.1 percent year on year and a real growth of 5.4 percent. In terms of income source, the nationwide per capita salary income, net business income, net property income and net income from transfers grew by 4.9 percent, 6.6 percent, 1.6 percent and 5.1 percent in nominal terms respectively. The median of the nationwide per capita disposable income of households was 10,433 yuan with a nominal growth of 5.0 percent year on year.

Generally speaking, in the first quarter, the national economy got off to a good start with growth recovery of main macro economic indicators and rapid development of new growth drivers. However, we should be aware that the external environment is becoming more complex and volatile, the imbalance between strong supply and weak demand is still acute, and the foundation for economic growth is yet to be consolidated. At the next stage, we must follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, strictly implement the decisions and arrangements made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, 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, implement more proactive and effective macro policies, further boost domestic demand and improve supply, optimize the allocation of new resources while making the best use of existing ones, provide greater support to keep employment, enterprise operations, markets, and expectations stable, so as to consolidate and expand the sound momentum of steady economic growth.

Notes:

1. The growth rate of GDP and its sub-items are calculated at constant prices. 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. According to the auto-revision function of the seasonal adjustment model, revisions are made to quarter-on-quarter growth of GDP and to month-on-month changes of the value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size, investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households), and total retail sales of consumer goods. The revised figures, quarter-on-quarter GDP growth for the first quarter of 2026 and month-on-month changes of other indicators for March 2026 are as follows:

The quarter-on-quarter growth of GDP in 2025 and in the first quarter of 2026 are 1.1 percent, 1.1 percent, 1.1 percent, 1.2 percent and 1.3 percent respectively.

Month-on-Month Growth Rate of Other Indicators

3. 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.

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

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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 power, 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.

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

10. The median of the nationwide per capita disposable income of households refers to the per capita disposable income of households which lies in the middle of all surveyed households ranked from low to high on the basis of per capita disposable income level.

11. 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.