In August, faced with multiple unexpected threats of increasingly complicated and challenging international environment, sporadic and frequent domestic outbreaks of COVID-19 pandemic and the extreme heat, 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, strongly implemented the policy package and the follow-up policies for stabilizing the economy and vigorously released the policy effectiveness. As a result, the national economy sustained the momentum of recovery and development with production demand increasing steadily, employment and prices generally stable and most indicators better than in the previous month.

1. Industrial Production Rebounded and Equipment Manufacturing Grew Fast.

In August, the total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 4.2 percent year on year, 0.4 percentage points faster than that of the previous month; the month-on-month growth was 0.32 percent. In terms of sectors, the value added of mining went up by 5.3 percent year on year, manufacturing up by 3.1 percent and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water up by 13.6 percent. The value added of equipment manufacturing went up by 9.5 percent year on year, 1.1 percentage points faster than that of the previous month. An analysis by types of ownership showed that the value added of State-holding enterprises was up by 5.6 percent year on year; that of share-holding enterprises was up by 4.1 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 1.1 percent. In terms of products, the production of green and smart products like new-energy vehicles, mobile communication base stations and solar cells grew by 117.0 percent, 25.7 percent and 21.6 percent year on year respectively. In the first eight months, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size went up by 3.6 percent year on year, 0.1 percentage point faster than that of the first seven months. In August, the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 49.4 percent, 0.4 percentage points higher than that of the previous month; the Production and Operation Expectation Index was 52.3 percent, up by 0.3 percentage points. In the first seven months, the total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size stood at 4,893.0 billion yuan, down by 1.1 percent year on year.

2. Service Sector Continued to Recover and Modern Service Industries Witnessed Good Momentum of Growth.

In August, the Index of Services Production grew by 1.8 percent year on year, 1.2 percentage points faster than that of the previous month. Specifically, that of information transmission, software and information technology services, that of accommodation and catering services and that of financial intermediation grew by 8.9 percent, 7.4 percent and 4.8 percent respectively. In the first eight months, the Index of Services Production maintained the same level year on year, and that for the first seven months was a decline of 0.3 percent. In the first seven months, the business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size went up by 4.2 percent year on year. Specifically, that of enterprises in health and social services, information transmission, software and information technology services and scientific research and technical service grew by 8.2 percent, 7.9 percent and 7.0 percent respectively. In August, the Business Activity Index for Services was 51.9 percent. Specifically, the Business Activity Index for accommodation, catering, telecommunication, broadcast, television and satellite transmission services and monetary and financial 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 57.6 percent.

3. Recovery of Market Sales Accelerated and the Accumulated Growth of Total Retail Sales of Consumer Goods Shifted from Negative to Positive.

In August, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3,625.8 billion yuan, up by 5.4 percent year on year, 2.7 percentage points faster than that of the previous month, or a month-on-month decline of 0.05 percent. Analyzed by different areas, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 3,159.3 billion yuan, up by 5.5 percent year on year; and that in rural areas reached 466.5 billion yuan, up by 5.0 percent. Grouped by types of consumption, the retail sales of goods were 3,251.0 billion yuan, up by 5.1 percent year on year; the income of catering was 374.8 billion yuan, up by 8.4 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 8.1 percent and 5.8 percent respectively. In the first eight months, the total retail sales of consumer goods were 28,256.0 billion yuan, up by 0.5 percent year on year and sales in the first seven months declined 0.2 percent. The online retail sales totaled 8,429.5 billion yuan, up by 3.7 percent. Specifically, the online retail sales of physical goods were 7,241.4 billion yuan, up by 5.8 percent, accounting for 25.6 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

4. Investment in Fixed Assets Went Up Steadily, and Investment in High-tech Industries Grew Fast.

In the first eight months, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 36,710.6 billion yuan, up by 5.8 percent year on year, or 0.1 percentage point faster than that of the first seven months; it grew by 0.36 percent month on month in August. Specifically, the investment in infrastructure grew by 8.3 percent year on year, or 0.9 percentage points faster than that of the first seven months; that in manufacturing grew by 10.0 percent, or 0.1 percentage point faster; and that in real estate development declined by 7.4 percent, or 1.0 percentage point more than that of the first seven months. By industry, the investment in the primary industry went up by 2.3 percent year on year, that in the secondary industry up by 10.4 percent, and that in the tertiary industry up by 3.9 percent. The private investment went up by 2.3 percent. The investment in high-tech industries grew by 20.2 percent, of which the investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 23.0 percent and 14.2 percent respectively. In terms of high-tech manufacturing, the investment in manufacturing of electronic and communication equipment and manufacturing of medical equipment, measuring instrument and meter grew by 28.0 percent and 27.4 percent respectively. In terms of high-tech services, the investment in services for transformation of scientific and technological achievements and in research, development and design services went up by 20.0 percent and 16.9 percent respectively. The investment in social sectors grew by 14.1 percent. Specifically, the investment in health and education grew by 32.6 percent and 8.3 percent respectively. The decline of market sales of real estate narrowed. In the first eight months. The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 878.90 million square meters, down by 23.0 percent year on year, a decline narrowed by 0.1 percentage point compared with that in the first seven months; and the total sales of commercial buildings were 8,587.0 billion yuan, down by 27.9 percent, with a decline narrowed by 0.9 percentage points.

5. Imports and Exports of Goods Continued to Grow and the Proportion of General Trade Increased.

In August, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 2.4 billion yuan, up by 8.6 percent year on year. Specifically, the value of exports was 2,124.1 billion yuan, up by 11.8 percent; and the value of imports was 1,588.2 billion yuan, up by 4.6 percent. The trade balance was 535.9 billion yuan in surplus. In the first eight months, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 27,302.6 billion yuan, up by 10.1 percent year on year. Specifically, the value of exports was 15,483.1 billion yuan, up by 14.2 percent; the value of imports was 11,819.5 billion yuan, up by 5.2 percent. In the first eight months, the imports and exports of general trade accounted for 64.3 percent of the total value of imports and exports, 2.3 percentage points higher than that in the same period of the previous year. The imports and exports by private enterprises accounted for 50.1 percent of the total value of imports and exports, 2.1 percentage points higher than the same period of the previous year. The exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 9.8 percent year on year, accounting for 56.5 percent of the total exports.

6. Employment Was Generally Stable and Surveyed Unemployment Rate in Urban Areas Dropped Slightly.

In the first eight months, the newly increased employed people in urban areas totaled 8.98 million. In August, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 5.3 percent, 0.1 percentage points lower than last month. The surveyed unemployment rate of population with local household registration was 5.3 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 5.0 percent. Specifically, the surveyed unemployment rate of population aged from 16 to 24 was 18.7 percent, 1.2 percentage points lower than that of the previous month; and the surveyed unemployment rate of population aged from 25 to 59 was 4.3 percent, the same as that of the previous month. The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.4 percent. The employees of enterprises worked 48.0 hours per week on average.

7. Growth of Consumer Price was Basically Stable and Growth of Producer Prices for Industrial Products Continued to Slow Down.

In August, the consumer price went up by 2.5 percent year on year, 0.2 percentage points lower compared with the previous month or down by 0.1 percent month on month. Grouped by commodity categories, prices for food, tobacco and alcohol went up by 4.5 percent year on year; clothing up by 0.6 percent; housing up by 0.6 percent; articles and services for daily use up by 1.3 percent; transportation and communication up by 4.9 percent; education, culture and recreation up by 1.6 percent; medical services and health care up by 0.7 percent; and other articles and services up by 2.2 percent. In terms of food, tobacco and alcohol prices, prices for grain went up by 3.3 percent, fresh vegetables up by 6.0 percent, fresh fruits up by 16.3 percent, and pork up by 22.4 percent. The core CPI excluding the prices of food and energy went up by 0.8 percent year on year, the same as the previous month. In the first eight months, the CPI went up by 1.9 percent year on year.

In August, the producer prices for industrial products grew by 2.3 percent year on year, 1.9 percentage points lower than that in the previous month, or down by 1.2 percent month on month. The purchasing prices for industrial producers went up by 4.2 percent year on year, or down by 1.4 percent month on month. In the first eight months, the producer prices for industrial products and the purchasing prices for industrial producers went up by 6.6 percent and 9.1 percent year on year respectively.

Generally speaking, the national economy withstood the impacts of multiple unexpected factors and sustained the momentum of recovery and growth with major indicators showing positive changes. However, we should be aware that the international environment is still complicated and severe and the foundation of domestic economic recovery is not solid. In next stage, we must follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and stick to the general principle of pursuing progress while maintaining stability. Following the requirements of containing the epidemic, stabilizing the economy and keeping development secure, we should effectively coordinate COVID-19 response with economic and social development, adopt strong measures to promote the implementation of the policy package and the follow-up policies for stabilizing the economy to expand effective demands and stabilize employment and prices, so as to consolidate the foundation for economic recovery and keep major economic indicators within an appropriate range.

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.