SPECIAL COVERAGE: FIRST QUARTER STATISTICS

Since the beginning of 2015, in face with complicated international situation and downward pressure of domestic economic development, the Central Party Committee and the State Council adhered to the general tone of “moving forward while maintaining stability”, played a leading role in the New Normal, focused on improving efficiency, gave prominence to structural adjustment, deepened the reform and opening up, vitalized the market and improved people’s livelihood. As a result, the national economy had a smooth development with restructuring advancing steadily and new impetus showing momentum.

According to the preliminary estimation, the gross domestic product (GDP) of China in the first quarter of this year was 14,066.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.0 percent. The value added of the primary industry was 777.0 billion yuan, up by 3.2 percent year-on-year; that of the secondary industry was 6,029.2 billion yuan, up by 6.4 percent; and that of the tertiary industry was 7,260.5 billion yuan, up by 7.9 percent. The gross domestic product of the first quarter went up by 1.3 percent against the previous quarter.

1. Agricultural production remained stable.

According to the planting intention survey conducted among more than 110 thousand rural households, the planting area for rice would go up by 0.2 percent; wheat grew by 0.7 percent; corn up by 1.9 percent and cotton down by 11.2 percent. Currently, the growth of seedling was normal in main producing area. In the first quarter of this year, the total output of pork, beef, mutton and poultry reached 23.15 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 1.4 percent. The output of pork was 15.57 million tons, down by 3.1 percent.

2. Industrial production growth dropped slightly.

In the first quarter, the value added at comparable prices of the industrial enterprises above designated size was up by 6.4 percent year-on-year. An analysis on different types of enterprises showed that the value added growth of state holding enterprises went up by 1.7 percent; collective enterprises up by 2.4 percent; share-holding enterprises up by 7.4 percent; and a 4.3 percent growth for enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan provinces. The value added growth for mining industry was up by 3.2 percent year-on-year; manufacturing up by 7.2 percent and the production and supply of electricity, heat, gas and water up by 2.3 percent. Out of the 564 kinds of industrial products, 333 kinds registered year-on-year increases in output. In the first quarter, the sales ratio of industrial enterprises above designated size was 97.2 percent. The export delivery value of the industrial enterprises above designated size reached 2,628.7 billion yuan, up by 2.9 percent. In March, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above designated size was up by 5.6 percent year-on-year, or 0.25 percent month-on-month.

In the first two months of this year, the profits made by industrial enterprises above designated size stood at 745.2 billion yuan, down by 4.2 percent year-on-year. The costs for per-hundred-yuan turnover of primary activities of the industrial enterprises above designated size reached 85.55 yuan. The profit rate of industrial enterprises above designated size from their primary activities was 4.9 percent.

3. The growth of Investment in Fixed Assets slowed down to some extent.

In the first quarter of 2015, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) was 7,751.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 13.5 percent, or a real growth of 14.5 percent. Of this total, the fixed assets investment of state holding enterprises reached 2,361.1 billion yuan, an increase of 14.4 percent; private investment reached 5,034.9 billion yuan, up by 13.6 percent, accounting for 65 percent of the total investment. The investment in the primary industry reached 155.3 billion yuan, up by 32.8 percent year-on-year; that in the secondary industry was 3,136.1 billion yuan, up by 11.0 percent; and that in the tertiary industry was 4,459.7 billion yuan, up by 14.7 percent. The amount in place for investment in the first quarter of 2015 was 10,267.2 billion yuan, up by 6.8 percent. Specifically, the government budgetary funds went up by 11.0 percent, domestic loans dropped by 3.7 percent, self-raising funds increased by 11.3 percent and foreign investment was down by 33.5 percent. The total planned investment in newly-started projects was 5,837.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.1 percent. In March, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) went up by 1.04 percent month-on-month.

In the first quarter of 2015, the total investment in real estate development was 1,665.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 8.5 percent, or a real growth of 9.5 percent. Of this total, the investment in residential buildings went up by 5.9 percent. Floor space of houses newly started in the first quarter was 237.24 million square meters, down by 18.4 percent. Specifically, the floor space of residential buildings started in the first quarter dropped by 20.9 percent. The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 182.54 million square meters, down by 9.2 percent. Of this total, that of residential buildings went down by 9.8 percent. The sales of commercial buildings in the first quarter were 1,202.3 billion yuan, down by 9.3 percent. Of this total, that of residential buildings was down by 9.1 percent. In the first quarter of this year, the land space purchased by real estate development enterprises was 40.51 million square meters, down by 32.4 percent. By the end of March, the floor space of commercial buildings for sale reached 649.98 million square meters, up by 24.6 percent. The actual funds for real estate development enterprises in the first quarter reached 2,789.2 billion yuan, down by 2.9 percent.

4. Market sales kept steady growth.

In the first quarter of 2015, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 7,071.5 billion yuan, an increase of 10.6 percent (a real growth of 10.8 percent after deducting price factors). Specifically, the retail sales of the units above designated size stood at 3,247.2 billion yuan, up by 7.8 percent. Analyzed by different areas, the retail sales in urban areas reached 6,070.9 billion yuan, up by 10.4 percent, and that in rural areas stood at 1,000.7 billion yuan, up by 11.6 percent. Grouped by consumption patterns, the total income of catering industry was 745.8 billion yuan, up by 11.3 percent year-on-year; and retail sales of goods was 6,325.7 billion yuan, up by 10.5 percent. In particular, the retail sales of units above designated size reached 3,053.4 billion yuan, up by 7.8 percent. In March, the total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 10.2 percent year-on-year (a real growth of 10.2 percent after deducting price factors), or 0.71 percent month-on-month.

In the first quarter of 2015, the online retail sales of goods and services reached 760.7 billion yuan, grew by 41.3 percent year-on-year. Specifically, the online retail sales of goods registered 631.0 billion yuan, up by 41.0 percent, accounting for 8.9 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods. The online retail sales of services were 129.7 billion yuan, up by 43.0 percent.

5. Trade surplus increased significantly.

The total value of imports and exports in the first quarter of 2015 was 5,543.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 6.0 percent. The total value of exports was 3,149.3 billion yuan, grew by 4.9 percent; and that of imports was 2,394.0 billion yuan, down by 17.3 percent. The trade surplus was 755.3 billion yuan. In March, the total value of imports and exports was 1,755.5 billion yuan, down by 13.5 percent year-on-year. The total value of exports was 886.8 billion yuan, down by 14.6 percent; and that of imports was 868.7 billion yuan, down by 12.3 percent.

6. Consumer price remained at a low level.

In the first quarter of 2015, the consumer price went up by 1.2 percent year-on-year. Specifically, the price went up by 1.2 percent in cities and 1.0 percent in rural areas. Grouped by commodity categories, prices for food grew by 1.9 percent; tobacco, liquor and articles dropped by 0.5 percent; clothing up by 2.9 percent; household facilities, articles and maintenance services up by 1.2 percent; health care and personal articles grew by 1.7 percent; transportation and communication decreased by 1.8 percent; recreation, education, culture articles and services grew by 1.2 percent; and housing went up by 0.7 percent. In terms of food prices, that for grain grew up by 2.8 percent, oil or fat down by 5.1 percent, pork down by 1.7 percent and fresh vegetables up by 1.4 percent. In March, the consumer prices went up by 1.4 percent year-on-year, or down by 0.5 percent month-on-month. In the first quarter, the producer prices for industrial products dropped by 4.6 percent. In March, the price dropped by 4.6 percent year-on-year, or 0.1 percent month-on-month. In the first quarter, the purchasing price for industrial producers was down by 5.6 percent year-on-year. In March, the price was down by 5.7 percent year-on-year, or 0.3 percent month-on-month.

7. Residents’ income continued to increase.

Based on the integrated household survey, in the first quarter of 2015, the national per capita disposable income was 6,087 yuan, a nominal growth of 9.4 percent, or a real increase of 8.1 percent after deducting price factors. In terms of permanent residence, the per capita disposable income of urban households was 8,572 yuan, a nominal growth of 8.3 percent, or a real growth of 7.0 percent. The per capita disposable income of rural residents was 3,279 yuan, up by 10.0 percent nominally, or 8.9 percent in real terms. The median of national per capita disposable income was 5,216 yuan, a nominal increase of 11.1 percent. By the end of February, the number of rural migrant workers was 163.31 million, decreased by 6.02 million, down by 3.6 percent. The average monthly income of migrant workers was 3,000 yuan, up by 11.9 percent year-on-year.

8. Structural adjustment achieved steady progress.

The industrial structure was optimized. In the first quarter, the value added of the tertiary industry accounted for 51.6 percent of the GDP, which was 1.8 percentage points higher as compared with that in the same period of last year and 8.7 percentage points higher than that of the secondary industry. Industrial innovation and upgrading was accelerating. In the first quarter, the value added growth for high tech industry was up by 11.4 percent year-on-year, equipment manufacturing industry went up by 7.7 percent, which were respectively 5.0 percentage points and 1.3 percentage points higher than that of the industrial enterprises above designated size. The income gap between urban and rural households was further narrowed. In the first quarter, the real growth of per capita disposable income of rural households was 1.9 percentage points higher than that of urban households. The per capita disposable income of urban households was 2.61 times that of rural households, a decrease of 0.05 as compared with the same period of the previous year. Energy conservation and consumption reduction continued to make new achievements. In the first quarter, unit energy consumption against GDP decreased by 5.6 percent year-on-year.

9. Money supply kept a steady growth.

By the end of March, the balance of broad money (M2) was 127.53 trillion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 11.6 percent; the balance of narrow money (M1) was 33.72 trillion yuan, up by 2.9 percent; and the balance of cash in circulation (M0) was 6.2 trillion yuan, up by 6.2 percent. The amount of outstanding loans by the end of March was 85.91 trillion yuan, while the amount of outstanding deposits was 124.89 trillion yuan. In the first quarter, the newly increased loans reached 3.68 trillion yuan, an increase of 601.8 billion yuan; the newly increased deposits were 4.15 trillion yuan, a decrease of 1.64 trillion yuan year-on-year. In the first quarter, the total social financing reached 4.61 trillion yuan, or a decrease of 894.9 billion yuan year-on-year.

As a whole, the national economy in the first quarter of 2015 enjoyed steady development. Despite the slowing down of economic growth, employment, consumer price and market expectation remained stable. Positive factors were accumulating with restructuring work advancing steadily, transformation and upgrading showing good momentum, and new impetus experiencing rapid development. In the future, in accordance with the decisions and arrangements by the Central Party Committee and the State Council, we must place priority on stabilizing economic growth, ensuring employment and improving efficiency. We must proceed with confidence and make our best efforts to promote economic development, deepen reform and opening up, and motivate innovation to a higher degree so as to ensure a sustained and sound development of the national economy.

(The text is a translation from original Chinese.)