China's economy shows resilient growth in key aspects

China's economy remained robust in November, with steady recoveries in industrial and services sectors, expanding consumption and investment, stable employment, improving market conditions, and continued quality upgrades in economic performance, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the NBS, summarized the economic situation in five key areas - production, demand, employment, market conditions, and economic quality. He stated that China's economic foundation is solidifying and its growth momentum is strengthening.

China's industrial and service sectors continued their recovery in November, with the value-added industrial output from enterprises above the designated size growing by 5.4 percent year on year, 0.1 percentage points faster than in October. This growth was primarily driven by policies supporting large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins. Equipment manufacturing experienced rapid growth, contributing nearly half of the increase in value-added industrial output.

The industrial output measures the activity of enterprises each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.8 million U.S. dollars).

The service sector also saw strong performance, with the index of service production (ISP) rising 6.1 percent year on year in November, a notable acceleration compared to the months prior to October.

Consumption and investment continued to expand in November.

"In terms of consumption, the growth rate of total retail sales of consumer goods in November slowed from the previous month, but it still outpaced the average growth rate of the third quarter, maintaining a recovery trend. Sales of goods under China's policy-backed trade-in program have continued to grow at a relatively rapid pace," Fu noted.

"Investment showed steady growth, fueled by efforts to promote the implementation of major national strategies and strengthen security capabilities in key areas, as well as policies supporting large-scale equipment upgrades. From January to November, fixed-asset investment grew by 3.3 percent, stabilizing for the fourth consecutive month. Among it, manufacturing investment grew significantly faster than overall investment at a rate of 9.3 percent, marking a significant contribution to overall investment growth," he continued.

Employment remained stable, with key groups seeing improvements in November, driven by pro-employment policies and broader economic recovery.

Market supply and demand continued to balance, while market expectations improved in November. The core consumer price index (CPI), excluding food and energy, increased at a faster rate in November, marking the second consecutive month of acceleration.

In terms of expectations, real estate sales rebounded in November, the stock market became more active. The manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) continued to rise. These positive trends have contributed to improving market sentiment and laid the foundation for sustained economic growth.

November also saw the quality of economic operations continue to improve.

"High-tech industries showed strong growth momentum. In the first eleven months of the year, the value-added output of high-tech manufacturing enterprises above the designated size rose 9 percent year on year, significantly outpacing the growth of industrial enterprises above the designated size. Investment in high-tech sectors increased by 8.8 percent, also exceeding the broader investment growth. The digital economy maintained its positive trajectory, with digital transformation driving strong growth in digital product manufacturing and digital services," Fu said.

"November also saw continued progress in green transition, with significant advancements in the new energy sector and increasing market competitiveness of green products. The production of new energy vehicles and solar cells surged by 51.1 percent and 10.9 percent year on ear, respectively, marking key highlights in China's ongoing green transformation," Fu added.

China's economy shows resilient growth in key aspects

China will implement a more proactive macroeconomic policy next year, as it remains an important engine of global economic growth, said a senior official.

The remarks, made by an official from the Office of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, came after last week's tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference.

Judging from the current economic operation, the annual economic growth is expected to be around 5 percent, and China remains an important engine of world economic growth, said the official.

Next year, China will implement a more proactive fiscal policy for the first time, and adopt a moderately loose monetary policy after having a prudent monetary policy for 14 consecutive years, according to the official.

In terms of policy intensity, China will increase the fiscal deficit rate and the issuance of ultra-long-term special treasury bonds and local government special bonds. It will also step up the fiscal expenditure to ensure a strong boost to economic growth.

In terms of policy focus, efforts will be made to optimize the fiscal expenditure structure and expand the investment areas of special bonds and their scope of use as project capital. The country will make good use of the transfer payment policy and provide solid guarantees for the three priorities at the primary level, namely people’s basic wellbeing, payment of salaries, and normal government functioning, said the official.

China will promote fiscal and taxation system reform, and strive for new breakthroughs in zero-based budget reform and take steps to move excise tax collection for some items further down the production-to-consumption chain, said the official.

The moderately loose monetary policy will further give play to the dual functions of monetary policy tools in terms of both total volume and structure, and promote faster and more capital flows to the real economy, according to the official.

The country will implement timely cuts in reserve requirements and interest rates and maintain ample liquidity, so that the growth of social financing scale and money supply will match the expected targets of economic growth and overall price level.

Efforts will be made to maintain the basic stability of the Chinese yuan exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level.

China will also explore and expand the central bank's macro-prudential and financial stability functions, innovate financial tools, and maintain financial market stability, said the official.

China to implement more proactive macroeconomic policy in 2025