What is the current economic situation like?, Demand for important data release in the first half of the year | Industry | Economy

China's economic semi annual report released on the 17th: GDP was 59303.4 billion billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 5.5 percent at constant prices, 1 percentage point faster than in the first quarter.

How do you view this semi-annual report? "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporter combed the key data.

GDP growth of 5.5 percent year-on-year: economic growth picks up overall

In the first half of the year, China's GDP grew 5.5 percent year-on-year, faster than the 3 percent economic growth rate for the whole of last year and faster than the 4.5 percent annual growth rate averaged over the three years of the epidemic. On a quarterly basis, GDP grew 4.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter and 6.3 percent in the second quarter. On a year-on-year basis, GDP grew by 0.8 in the second quarter.

Fu Linghui, spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics, said at a press conference of the State Council Information Office on the same day that 5.5 percent economic growth is a relatively fast growth rate on a global scale. Judging from the data already released by major economies, in the first quarter, the GDP of the United States, the Eurozone, Japan, and Brazil increased by 1.8, 1%, 1.9, and 4% year-on-year, respectively. Even taking into account the situation in the second quarter, the overall Chinese economy in the first half of the year The growth rate is still relatively fast among the major economies.

Fu Linghui said that although the external environment has become more complex and severe, and domestic economic development is also under pressure, as the positive factors that promote development accumulate and increase, the economy is expected to continue to recover.

Total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 8.2 year-on-year: consumption has significantly increased economic growth

In the first half of the year, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 8.2 year-on-year, maintaining a relatively rapid growth; the contribution rate of final consumption expenditure to economic growth reached 77.2, which was significantly higher than last year.

Service consumption grew faster, and travel and contact consumption grew better. In the first half of the year, the per capita service consumption expenditure of residents nationwide increased by 12.7 percent year-on-year, the national catering income increased by 21.4 percent year-on-year, and the commercial passenger traffic volume increased by 56.3 percent year-on-year.

The new kinetic energy of consumption has grown, and green consumption and digital consumption have expanded. In the first half of the year, the sales volume of new energy passenger vehicles exceeded 3 million, up 37.3 percent year-on-year; online retail sales of physical goods increased 10.8 percent year-on-year.

Yang Guangpu, director of the Research Office of the Macroeconomic Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said that in the next stage, we should do everything possible to increase the income of urban and rural residents to enhance consumption capacity, while improving the quality of supply, optimizing the consumption environment, cultivating and expanding emerging consumption, and further releasing consumption potential.

Fixed asset investment up 3.8 percent year-on-year: investment structure continues to be optimized

In the first half of the year, the country's fixed asset investment increased by 3.8, of which infrastructure investment and manufacturing investment increased by 7.2 and 6% respectively.

Innovation investment represented by high-tech industries and technical services has continued to increase, and its supporting role in investment growth has increased. In the first half of the year, investment in high-tech industries increased by 12.5 percent year-on-year, significantly faster than the growth of all investment.

Fu Linghui said that since the beginning of this year, due to the adjustment of the real estate market, the growth rate of fixed asset investment has slowed down, but all regions and departments have actively expanded effective investment, optimized the investment structure, and fixed asset investment has continued to grow.

"In the next stage, we should continue to play the role of government investment and policy incentives and guidance, effectively stimulate private investment, continuously optimize the investment structure, improve investment efficiency, and promote high-quality economic development." Fu Linghui said.

Foreign trade grew 2.1 percent year-on-year: the scale of trade hit a record high over the same period.

In the first half of the year, the total value of imports and exports of goods trade was 20.1 trillion billion yuan, an increase of 2.1 percent over the same period last year, and the scale exceeded 20 trillion billion yuan for the first time in the same period in history. Among them, exports increased by 3.7 and imports fell by 0.1.

Lu Daliang, director of the Statistical Analysis Department of the General Administration of Customs, said that in the face of a complex and severe external environment, my country's foreign trade imports and exports withstood the pressure, stabilized the scale, and improved the quality in the first half of the year, which was generally in line with expectations.

Regarding the trend of foreign trade in the second half of the year, Lu Daliang said that the direct impact of the weakening of external demand on my country's foreign trade continues, but my country's economy has strong resilience, great potential, and sufficient vitality, and the fundamentals of long-term improvement have not changed. "With the continuous development of a series of policies and measures, we have the confidence, foundation and conditions to achieve the goal of promoting the stability and quality of import and export."

The national regulated industrial added value increased by 3.8 year on year: industrial production recovered steadily

In the first half of the year, the added value of industries above designated size nationwide increased by 3.8 year-on-year, 0.8 percentage points faster than the first quarter. Among the 41 major industrial sectors, 26 industries achieved growth, with an increase of 63.4 per cent.

The technical intensity of industrial production continues to increase. In the first half of the year, the added value of the equipment manufacturing industry increased by 6.5 year-on-year, 2.7 percentage points higher than the growth rate of industries above designated size, and its contribution to the growth of all industries above designated size reached 53.9.

The continued recovery of industrial production has laid the foundation for improved corporate earnings. From January to May, the decline in regulated industrial profits narrowed by 1.8 percentage points from January to April, improving for three consecutive months.

"At present, industrial production is steadily recovering, and the quality of development continues to improve, but the level of industrial production and marketing needs to be further improved." Fu Linghui said that with the recovery of the economy, the expansion of market demand, the enhancement of innovation and development momentum, and the implementation of policies and measures to promote industrial development, the foundation for industrial economic recovery will continue to be consolidated, and the profitability of industrial enterprises is expected to continue to improve.

CPI up 0.7 percent year-on-year: price increases phase down

In the first half of the year, the national consumer price index rose 0.7 percent year-on-year, lower than the 1.7 percent increase in the same period last year, of which the increase from March to June was continuously at a low level of less than 1 percent.

Industry analysts, supply and demand recovery time difference is the main reason for this year's CPI low operation.

"After the full return of the economy and society to normal operation, domestic production has accelerated the recovery, but demand is constrained by factors such as the differentiation of income distribution and unstable income expectations, and the recovery is still lagging behind." Wang Likun, an associate researcher at the Market Economy Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said.

Fu Linghui said that although the current price is at a low level, from the perspective of economic growth, money supply and other related indicators, China's economy is not in line with deflation. With the recovery of the economy, the gradual expansion of market demand and the smooth economic cycle, the relationship between supply and demand will gradually improve, coupled with the gradual elimination of high base factors in the same period last year, price increases will gradually return to a reasonable level.

PPI down 3.1 per cent year-on-year: year-on-year decline expected to narrow

Affected by factors such as fluctuations in international commodity prices and a high comparison base in the same period last year, the national industrial producer price index continued to decline, and the rate of decline expanded month after month. In the first half of the year, PPI fell 3.1 percent year-on-year, including 5.4 percent year-on-year decline in June.

Accelerate the construction of charging piles, energy storage and other facilities and the transformation of supporting power grids; continue to promote new energy vehicles, green smart home appliances, green building materials to the countryside activities; carry out home appliances for new, car purchase subsidies and other consumer promotion activities ...... Recently, the parties launched a series of measures to activate the endogenous power of enterprise development and promote a reasonable recovery in the prices of industrial products.

Li Gang, a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, analyzed that PPI is mainly affected by changes in the international market and is not completely synchronized with the fluctuation of CPI. Keeping its fluctuation range at a relatively reasonable level is conducive to the coordinated development of upstream and downstream industries. Recently, the steady industrial policy continued to be introduced, some of which are taking effect on the ground, superimposed on the base effect weakened, the second half of the year-on-year decline in PPI is expected to narrow.

The average unemployment rate in the national urban survey is 5.3 percent: the employment situation is generally stable.

In the first half of the year, 6.78 million new jobs were created in cities and towns across the country, an increase of 240000 over the same period last year; the average unemployment rate in the national urban survey was 5.3 per cent, down 0.2 percentage points from the first quarter.

In June, the unemployment rate for the urban workforce aged 25 to 59 was 4.1 percent, below the level of the same period in 2019 before the epidemic, and the basic employment market remained stable. The unemployment rate of migrant agricultural registered labor in cities and towns is 4.9 per cent, a low level so far this year.

"As the economy recovers, the employment stabilization policy continues to be effective, the labor market tends to be active, and the employment situation generally improves." Fu Linghui said.

Yang Guangpu said that due to the complex and changeable external environment and other factors, the total employment pressure and structural problems still exist. The "difficulty in finding jobs" for young people and the "difficulty in recruiting workers" in some industries coexist. Stabilizing employment requires continuous efforts, especially through Stable growth achieves stable employment.

Recently, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Sichuan and other places have introduced policies to promote employment, releasing positive signals of stable employment, especially for young people such as college graduates. Fu Linghui said that as the economy continues to recover, labor demand continues to expand, and the employment stabilization policy continues to be effective, the employment situation is expected to remain generally stable.