Economic experts talk about the recovery of the national economy in the first half of the year, and the continuous optimization of China's economic structure

Beijing, July 20th (Xinhua) - Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics released data on the operation of the national economy in the first half of the year. Preliminary calculations show that the gross domestic product (GDP) in the first half of the year was 59303.4 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 5.5% at constant prices, which is 1.0 percentage point faster than the first quarter.

Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics and Director of the Department of Comprehensive Statistics of the National Economy, stated at the press conference of the State Council Information Office that in the first half of this year, with the comprehensive restoration of normal economic and social operations, macroeconomic policies have shown significant effectiveness, and the national economy has rebounded and steadily advanced towards high-quality development. However, it should also be noted that the world political and economic situation is complex, and the foundation for sustained recovery and development of the domestic economy is still unstable. Adhere to the overall tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development concept, focus on the primary task of high-quality development and the strategic task of building a new development pattern, comprehensively deepen reform and opening up, accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system, focus on unblocking the economic cycle, and make greater efforts in transforming modes, adjusting structures, and increasing momentum, striving to achieve effective improvement in quality and reasonable growth in quantity of the economy.

Feng Qiaobin, Deputy Minister of the Macroeconomic Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council, stated in an interview with People's Daily that in the first half of this year, while the national economy was recovering and improving, the pace of optimizing China's economic structure continued to accelerate, and high-quality development was steadily advancing, which is reflected in the following aspects:

The proportion of service industry has increased. Economic development is a progressive process, manifested in the economic structure, where the secondary industry surpasses the primary industry and the tertiary industry gradually becomes the main economic sector. Data shows that while China continues to maintain its position as a major manufacturing country, various service industries are rapidly developing. In the first half of this year, the tertiary industry accounted for 56% of the total output value of the national economy, driving economic growth by 3.6 percentage points, with a contribution rate of 66.1%, far higher than the industrial and agricultural sectors. At the same time, the productive service industry and the life service industry are advancing side by side in the service industry, and the information transmission, software, and information technology service industries with high technological content and closely related to the development of the real economy are growing rapidly, with a year-on-year increase of 12.9%; The transportation, leasing, and business services industries, as well as wholesale and retail, which are highly correlated with economic activity, have increased by 6.9%, 10.1%, and 6.6% year-on-year. Among them, the contact aggregation service industry such as accommodation and catering has significantly rebounded, with a year-on-year growth of 15.5%, demonstrating strong vitality.

Consumption has become the main engine of economic growth. At present, China has entered a new stage of relying mainly on domestic demand to drive the economy. Since the beginning of this year, China's consumption has shown a relatively fast recovery trend and has become the "main engine" driving economic growth. In the first half of this year, the total retail sales of consumer goods in China reached 2275.88 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.2%. The final consumer expenditure of residents drove economic growth by 4.2 percentage points, contributing 77.2% to economic growth, which is close to the average level of developed economies. It is worth noting that various indicators show that in the first half of the year, the growth rate of service consumption expenditure was faster than that of commodity consumption, and the consumption growth rate of rural residents was faster than that of urban residents. This not only reflects that China's consumption structure is undergoing profound changes, but also indicates that the economy is shifting from relying mainly on investment to relying more on domestic demand and consumption. The endogenous driving force of economic growth is constantly accumulating, and the demand structure is moving towards optimization and upgrading.

The industrial structure is constantly upgrading. China is the largest manufacturing country, but at the same time, there are also problems such as "large but not strong" and "large but not excellent". From the situation in the first half of the year, China's industrial sector quickly recovered after the epidemic, maintaining a strong growth trend, with a capacity utilization rate of 74.5% and a year-on-year increase of 3.8% in the added value of large-scale industries. At the same time, the industrial structure continues to optimize, and the characteristics of intelligence, high-end, and green are rapidly accumulating. One is that the added value of the equipment manufacturing industry increased by 6.5% year-on-year, accounting for 32.3% of all industries above designated size, with the electrical machinery and automotive industries achieving double-digit growth. The second is the strong growth of high-tech manufacturing industry, with high-speed growth in semiconductor production equipment production. The manufacturing of intelligent vehicle mounted equipment, intelligent unmanned aerial vehicles, and other intelligent consumer equipment increased by 36.3%, 12.5%, and 20.0% respectively. Thirdly, the achievements in green development are impressive. The production of products such as photovoltaic cells, wind turbines, and hydro turbines increased by 54.5%, 48.1%, and 32.3% year-on-year, respectively. Materials related to the green industry, such as ultra white glass for solar energy industry, polycrystalline silicon, and monocrystalline silicon, increased by 89.1%, 86.4%, and 54.1% respectively. Fourthly, new energy vehicles set sail for the sea, with a year-on-year increase of 35.0% in production. The production of related automotive lithium-ion power batteries, charging stations and other products increased by 46.4% and 53.1% respectively, successfully seizing the main market of new energy vehicles worldwide.

Solid and reliable food and energy security. Against the backdrop of the accelerated evolution of unprecedented changes and the severe and complex external environment, it is particularly important to coordinate development and security, and consolidate the foundation for stable economic and social operations such as food and energy. In the first half of the year, influenced by various factors and with a year-on-year increase of 5.1% in total energy consumption, China's raw coal production continued to increase, oil and gas maintained stable growth, and electricity security was strong. Energy production and consumption were basically coordinated and orderly. In terms of grain, summer grain production, despite encountering the adverse effects of "bad rain" during the harvest period, still achieves a bountiful harvest, ensuring that even in extreme situations, one can firmly hold their rice bowl in their own hands.

The income structure of residents has improved. In the first half of the year, the per capita disposable income of residents in China was 19672 yuan, an actual increase of 5.8% compared to the same period last year, showing characteristics such as rapid growth in wage income and net operating income, increased property income of residents, and faster growth in rural residents' income than urban residents.

"It should also be noted that while China's economic structure continues to optimize, there are still some prominent problems and contradictions that constrain economic growth. In the second half of the year, special attention should be paid to solving problems such as weakened expectations of private investment and insufficient demand from residents. Timely action should be taken to respond to social concerns, targeted policies should be introduced to promote overall improvement in economic operation, achieve effective improvement in economic quality and reasonable growth in quantity, and complete the annual economic target tasks as scheduled." Feng Qiaobin said.