In May, faced with the severe impact of the grave and complex international environment and the Covid-19 pandemic at home, 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 effectively coordinated the Covid-19 prevention and control and the economic and social development, and focused on stabilizing the macroeconomic performance. As the result, the situation of the pandemic prevention and control in China was turning for the better, production and demands gradually recovered, employment and prices were generally stable and major indicators improved marginally. The national economy showed a momentum of recovery.
1. Industrial Production Shifted from Decrease to Increase and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Rebounded Markedly.
In May, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 0.7 percent year on year, while that in April was down by 2.9 percent, the month-on-month growth was 5.61 percent. In terms of sectors, the value added of mining went up by 7.0 percent, manufacturing up by 0.1 percent and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water up by 0.2 percent. The value added of equipment manufacturing grew by 1.1 percent year on year, while that in April decreased by 8.1 percent. An analysis by types of ownership showed that the value added of state holding enterprises was up by 0.7 percent year on year; that of share-holding enterprises was up by 2.3 percent; that of enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan was down by 5.4 percent; and that of private enterprises was up by 1.1 percent. In term of products, the production of green and smart products like new-energy vehicles and solar cells grew by 108.3 percent and 31.4 percent year on year respectively. In the first five months, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size went up by 3.3 percent year on year. In May, the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 49.6 percent, 2.2 percentage points higher than the previous month; the Production and Operation Expectation Index was 53.9 percent. In the first four months, the total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size stood at 2,658.2 billion yuan, up by 3.5 percent year on year.
2. Decrease of Index of Services Production Slowed Down and Modern Service Industries Sustained Growth.
In May, the Index of Services Production was down by 5.1 percent year on year, 1.0 percentage point slower than the previous month. Specifically, that of information transmission, software and information technology services and that of financial intermediation grew by 8.0 percent and 5.5 percent respectively. In the first five months, the Index of Services Production was down by 0.7 percent year on year. In the first four months, the business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size went up by 4.2 percent year on year. Specifically, that of information transmission, software and information technology services and that of health and social services grew by 8.8 percent and 6.6 percent respectively. In May, the Business Activity Index for Services was 47.1 percent, 7.1 percentage points higher than that in the previous month. Specifically, the Business Activity Index for railway transportation, air transportation, post and telecommunication, broadcast, television and satellite transmission services stayed within the high expansion range of 55.0 percent and above. From the perspective of market expectation, the Business Activity Expectation Index for Services was 55.2 percent, 2.2 percentage points higher than the previous month.
3. Market Sales Picked up and Sales of Goods for Basic Living and Online Retail Sales Continued to Grow.
In May, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3,354.7 billion yuan, down by 6.7 percent year on year, 4.4 percentage points slower than that in the previous month, or a month-on-month increase of 0.05 percent. Analyzed by different areas, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 2,920.5 billion yuan, down by 6.7 percent year on year; and that in rural areas reached 434.2 billion yuan, down by 6.3 percent. Grouped by types of consumption, the retail sales of goods was 3,053.5 billion yuan, down by 5.0 percent; the income of catering was 301.2 billion yuan, down by 21.1 percent. The consumption for basic living grew steadily. The retail sales of grain, oil and food and that of beverage by enterprises above the designated size went up by 12.3 percent and 7.7 percent respectively. In the first five months, the total retail sales of consumer goods was 17,168.9 billion yuan, down by 1.5 percent year on year. The online retail sales totaled 4,960.4 billion yuan, up by 2.9 percent. Specifically, the online retail sales of physical goods were 4,271.8 billion yuan, up by 5.6 percent, accounting for 24.9 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods, 1.1 percentage points higher than that in the first four months.
4. Investment in Fixed Assets Increased Steadily and Investment in High-tech Industries Grew Fast.
In the first five months, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 20,596.4 billion yuan, up by 6.2 percent year on year; it grew by 0.72 percent month on month in May. Specifically, in the first five months, the investment in infrastructure grew by 6.7 percent year on year, that in manufacturing grew by 10.6 percent, and that in real estate development declined by 4.0 percent. The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 507.38 million square meters, down by 23.6 percent year on year; and the total sales of commercial buildings were 4,833.7 billion yuan, down by 31.5 percent. By industry, the investment in the primary industry went up by 5.8 percent year on year, that in the secondary industry up by 11.0 percent, and that in the tertiary industry up by 4.1 percent. The private investment went up by 4.1 percent. The investment in high-tech industries grew by 20.5 percent, of which the investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 24.9 percent and 10.8 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 30.4 percent and 29.3 percent respectively. In terms of high-tech services, the investment in research, development and design services and in services for transformation of scientific and technological achievements went up by 20.1 percent and 14.9 percent respectively. The investment in social sectors grew by 12.9 percent. Specifically, the investment in health sector and education sector grew by 27.8 percent and 9.0 percent respectively.
5. Growth of Imports and Exports of Goods Accelerated and Trade Structure Continued to be Improved.
In May, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 3,450.0 billion yuan, up by 9.6 percent year on year, 9.5 percentage points faster than that in the previous month. Specifically, the value of exports was 1,976.5 billion yuan, up by 15.3 percent, 13.4 percentage points faster; and the value of imports was 1,473.6 billion yuan, up by 2.8 percent, while that of the previous month was down by 2.0 percent. The trade balance was 502.9 billion yuan in surplus. In the first five months, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 16,037.4 billion yuan, up by 8.3 percent year on year. Specifically, the value of exports was 8,943.7 billion yuan, up by 11.4 percent; the value of imports was 7,093.7 billion yuan, up by 4.7 percent. In the first five months, the imports and exports of general trade accounted for 64 percent of the total value of imports and exports, 2.1 percentage points higher than that in the same period of the previous year. The imports and exports by private enterprises accounted for 49 percent of the total value of imports and exports, 1.5 percentage points higher than the same period of the previous year. The exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 7 percent year on year, accounting for 57.2 percent of the total exports.
6. Urban Surveyed Unemployment Rate Dropped.
In the first five months, the newly increased employed people in urban areas totaled 5.29 million. In May, the urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.9 percent, 0.2 percentage points lower than the previous month. The surveyed unemployment rate of population with local household registration was 5.5 percent and that of population with non-local household registration was 6.6 percent, among which, the rate of the population with non-local agricultural household registration was 6.2 percent. Specifically, the surveyed unemployment rates of the population aged from 16 to 24 and from 25 to 59 were 18.4 percent and 5.1 percent respectively. The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 6.9 percent. In May, the employees of enterprises worked 47.2 hours per week on average.
7. Consumer Price Maintained Stable and Growth of Producer Prices for Industrial Products Continued to Slow Down.
In May, the consumer price index (CPI) went up by 2.1 percent year on year, the same as the previous month; or dropped by 0.2 percent month on month. Grouped by commodity categories, prices for food, tobacco and alcohol went up by 2.1 percent year on year; clothing up by 0.5 percent; housing up by 1.0 percent; articles and services for daily use up by 1.4 percent; transportation and communication up by 6.2 percent; education, culture and recreation up by 1.8 percent; medical services and health care up by 0.7 percent; and other articles and services up by 1.8 percent. In terms of food, tobacco and alcohol prices, prices for pork went down by 21.1 percent year on year, grain up by 3.2 percent, fresh vegetables up by 11.6 percent and fresh fruits up by 19.0 percent. The core CPI excluding the prices of food and energy went up by 0.9 percent year on year, the same level as the previous month. In the first five months, the consumer price index went up by 1.5 percent year on year.
In May, the producer prices for industrial products grew by 6.4 percent year on year, 1.6 percentage points lower than that in the previous month, or up by 0.1 percent month on month. The purchasing prices for industrial producers went up by 9.1 percent year on year, 1.7 percentage points lower than the previous month, or up by 0.5 percent month on month. In the first five months, the producer prices for industrial products and the purchasing prices for industrial producers went up by 8.1 percent and 10.8 percent year on year respectively.
Generally speaking, the national economy in May showed a good momentum of recovery, with negative effects from Covid-19 pandemic gradually overcome and major indicators improved marginally. However, we must be aware that the international environment is to be even more complicated and grim, and the domestic economy is still facing difficulties and challenges for recovery. 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 decisions and arrangements made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and effectively coordinate the efforts of Covid-19 prevention and control and economic and social development. We must further strengthen macropolicy regulation, fully promote the implementation of a package of policy measures to maintain stable growth, focus on stabilizing the macroeconomic performance, ensure and improve people’s livelihood and facilitate the continued recovery of national 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, is 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 includes 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. Data of imports and exports are from the General Administration of Customs; data of newly increased employed people in urban areas are from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
6. 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.
7. 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.
