What are the highlights of this number?, 5.5% economy | highlights

Shanghai, July 18 (Xinhua) - The National Bureau of Statistics released data on July 17, stating that the gross domestic product (GDP) for the first half of this year was 59303.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.5% at constant prices. Among them, GDP in the second quarter increased by 6.3% year-on-year.

Overall, with the comprehensive restoration of normal operation of China's economy and society, macroeconomic policies have shown significant effectiveness in the first half of the year. The main indicators have improved overall, the national economy has rebounded, new driving forces have grown and grown, and high-quality development has steadily advanced. This has laid a solid foundation for achieving the expected goals of economic and social development for the whole year.

"Form" shows a state of recovery, "momentum" has positive support, and "recovery is positive" has become a high-frequency buzzword for interpreting economic data in the first half of the year.

What are the highlights of a 5.5% increase? Where is the recovery taking place and which trends are improving? Today, the reporter will interpret this transcript with you, take stock of the value of economic operation in the first half of the year, and look forward to the key points of economic development in the second half of the year.

Further optimization of industrial structure

Opening the semi annual report, the added value of the primary industry was 3041.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%; The added value of the secondary industry was 23068.2 billion yuan, an increase of 4.3%; The added value of the tertiary industry was 33193.7 billion yuan, an increase of 6.4%.

Zhu Qigui, Secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai Advanced School of Finance at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, summarized this set of data with the words "gratifying": "The situation of the primary industry is stable, the structure of the secondary industry is optimized, and the tertiary industry has significantly improved. The industrial structure continues to be optimized, and the overall economy is recovering well, showing a recovery trend in operation."

This summer harvest season, China's main wheat producing areas have encountered "rotten rain", but summer grain production has achieved another bumper harvest. Zhu Qigui believes that the total summer grain production in China is 146.13 million tons, ranking second in history. The stable growth of animal husbandry has made significant contributions to China's economic development and laid a solid foundation for the development of the secondary and tertiary industries in the coming year.

"In the secondary industry, lithium batteries, solar cells, and electric passenger vehicles, known as the 'new three types' of industry, have become new growth points along with the digital economy." Pan Helin, co director of the Digital Economy and Financial Innovation Research Center at the International Business School of Zhejiang University, said that the production of solar cells, new energy vehicles, industrial control computers, and systems has increased by 54.5%, 35%, and 34.1% respectively, becoming the three pillars of China's manufacturing industry's sub sectors.

A large number of export goods have gathered at Yantai Port in Shandong Province, preparing to be shipped by car roll on/roll off ships. Shen Jizhong

It is worth noting that the growth of the service industry contributes over 60% to economic growth. The added value of the service industry in the first half of the year increased by 6.4% year-on-year. In June, the business activity index of industries such as air transportation, postal express delivery, telecommunications, broadcasting and television, and satellite transmission services were all in the high prosperity range of 60% or above.

Following the peak of tourism during the May Day and Dragon Boat Festival, as summer approaches, major scenic spots continue to be fully booked; Many restaurants are doing well, and cinema box office is reaching new highs. According to Lighthouse Professional, as of July 16th, the summer box office has exceeded 8.7 billion yuan, setting a new record for the first half of the summer box office. The lively scenes and lively data demonstrate the tremendous vitality of Chinese consumption.

The contribution proportion of the "three carriages" has changed

As the "three carriages" driving economic growth, the contribution of consumption, investment, and exports to economic growth has changed in the first half of this year.

——The consumption potential is accelerating its release. In the first half of the year, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 22758.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.2%, an increase of 2.4 percentage points compared to the first quarter; The total number of domestic tourists reached 2.384 billion, an increase of 929 million compared to the same period last year and a year-on-year increase of 63.9%; This year, the national box office of movies has exceeded 30 billion yuan.

On June 21st, tourists watched the fireworks show at the "Only Henan Drama Fantasy City" scenic area. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Gang

——The investment in high-tech industries is growing rapidly. In the first half of the year, investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech service industries increased by 11.8% and 13.9% respectively, which had a significant driving effect on the overall investment in the manufacturing industry. The investment in strategic emerging industries such as photovoltaics, wind power, new energy vehicles, and 5G has maintained a high growth rate.

——New forms and models of foreign trade continue to emerge. In the first half of the year, China's total import and export value of goods trade reached 20.1 trillion yuan, with the scale surpassing 20 trillion yuan for the first time in the same period in history. The advantages and potential of cross-border e-commerce in "buying and selling globally" continue to be unleashed, with imports and exports reaching 1.1 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16%.

Have confidence, conditions, and ability

In the first half of the year, China's RMB loans increased by 15.73 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.02 trillion yuan year-on-year. As one of the leading indicators of the economy, financial data has shown a significant rebound.

Liu Guoqiang, Vice President of the People's Bank of China, believes that a prudent monetary policy is precise and effective, and efforts are being made to increase countercyclical regulation to promote overall improvement in economic operation. From a total perspective, liquidity is reasonable and abundant, and support for the real economy is stable; From a structural perspective, the credit structure continues to optimize and enhance the driving force of economic development.

In response to the pressure on the real estate market, the financial management department has recently extended two policies with applicable terms in the "16 Financial Measures" to support the stable and healthy development of the real estate market until the end of December 2024. Experts believe that this will help guide financial institutions to continue extending their existing financing for real estate enterprises and increasing financial support for guaranteed delivery of properties.

At the same time, fiscal policies will further strengthen and increase efforts to stabilize growth. According to a report from the Bank of China Research Institute, financial policies should focus on three aspects: total volume, structure, and regulation, in order to promote a virtuous cycle of enhancing endogenous momentum and improving social expectations; At the same time, we should pay attention to the impact of weakened external demand on foreign trade enterprises, and the policy of stabilizing the real estate market should focus on maintaining stable expectations and mitigating risks.

In a textile enterprise in Tianmushan Town, Lin'an District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, workers are busy in the workshop. Shen Jizhong

Overall, in the first half of the year, with the comprehensive restoration of normal economic and social operations, macroeconomic policies have shown significant effectiveness and strength, 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.

As Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, said, despite facing pressure and challenges, with the improvement of employment, increase in household income, gradual enhancement of domestic demand, optimization and adjustment of supply structure, and growth and growth of new driving forces, the economy will steadily recover, and the quality of development will continue to improve. "We have full confidence, conditions, and ability to achieve the expected goals and tasks of economic and social development for the whole year."