China's stable economic performance unchanged: NBS spokesperson

（ECNS）-- In response to the slowdown in China's GDP growth rate in the second quarter, a spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics stated on Monday that the overall scale of national economic indicators remains considerable and that the stable economic performance remains unchanged.

China's GDP grew by 5 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2024 to 61.68 trillion yuan ($8.49 trillion), the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. In the second quarter, the economy rose by 4.7 percent in comparison to a year earlier after a 5.3 percent growth in the first quarter of the year, according to the NBS.

The spokesperson emphasized that figures should be viewed comprehensively and dialectically, reaching beyond short-term fluctuations while spotting long-term development trends.

In the short term, the spokesperson noted the slowdown in economic growth during the second quarter was influenced by short-term factors like extreme weather and frequent floods, reflecting increased difficulties and challenges in current economic performance, particularly insufficient domestic effective demand and the rocky domestic circulation.

However, looking to fundamentals, a stable economy and long-term positive development remain unchanged, similar to the momentum in high-quality development, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson pointed out that in the second quarter, China's economic volume exceeded 32 trillion yuan, with industrial added value and total import and export of goods each exceeding 10 trillion yuan, and these total indicators remained considerable.

The spokesperson also noted that the employment situation is relatively stable, with the urban surveyed unemployment rate in the second quarter decreasing by 0.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year and the first quarter. Physical indicators such as passenger volume, railway freight volume, and electricity consumption maintained rapid growth, and high-end, intelligent, and green transformation of the manufacturing industry is being steadily advanced, fostering the growth of new industries and new driving forces

“All these indicate that the current trend of stable economic performance has not changed, and the positive factors for promoting economic transformation, upgrading, and high-quality development are continuing to accumulate,” according to the spokesperson.

Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the spokesperson said that instability and uncertainty regarding the external environment are increasing, and domestic challenges remain considerable. Relevant departments have a clear understanding of these issues and have taken a series of measures to address them. “Overall, favorable conditions for China's development outweigh unfavorable factors, and the trend of stability and long-term positive growth will not change,” he said.