In May, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, all regions and departments strictly implemented the decisions and arrangements made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China(CPC) and the State Council, carried out regular covid-19 control and promoted economic and social development. As a result, the resumption of work, production, business activities and market was advanced steadily, production and demands were improved, employment and prices were generally stable, positive changes were accumulating and the national economy recovered gradually.
1. The Industrial Production Continued to Pick up with Equipment Manufacturing and High-tech Manufacturing Witnessing Fast Growth.
In May, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 4.4 percent year on year, 0.5 percentage points higher than the growth of April, or up by 1.53 percent month on month. In the first five months, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size dropped by 2.8 percent year on year, a decline narrowed by 2.1 percentage points compared with that of the first four months. An analysis by types of ownership in May showed that, the value added of the state holding enterprises went up by 2.1 percent year on year; share-holding enterprises up by 4.8 percent; enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan up by 3.4 percent; and private enterprises up by 7.1 percent. In terms of sectors, the value added of the mining went up by 1.1 percent, the manufacturing up by 5.2 percent and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water up by 3.6 percent. In May, the value added of equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing grew by 9.5 percent and 8.9 percent respectively, 5.1 percentage points and 4.5 percentage points faster than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size. Specifically, the output of excavating and shoveling machinery, micro computers, cables, automobiles and industrial robots grew by 62.1 percent, 22.3 percent, 20.8 percent, 19.0 percent and 16.9 percent year on year respectively.
In the first four months, the total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size was 1,259.8 billion yuan, down by 27.4 percent year on year, or a decline narrowed by 9.3 percentage points compared with that of the first three months. In April, the total profits of industrial enterprises above the designated size went down by 4.3 percent year on year, a decline narrowed by 30.6 percentage points compared with that of March.
2. The Growth of Index of Services Production Shifted from Negative to Positive with Modern Service Industries Growing Well.
In May, the Index of Services Production increased by 1.0 percent year on year, while it dropped by 4.5 percent in April. In the first five months, the Index of Services Production dropped by 7.7 percent year on year, 2.2 percentage points slower than the decline of the first four months. In May, the production index for information transmission, software and information technology services, real estate and financial intermediation went up by 12.9 percent, 7.1 percent and 5.2 percent year on year respectively, or 7.7 percentage points, 6.0 percentage points and 0.8 percentage points faster than that of April; that for wholesale and retail trades and accommodation and catering went down by 2.1 percent and 21.7 percent year on year respectively, 4.5 percentage points and 12.0 percentage points slower than the decline of April. In the first four months, business revenue of services enterprises above the designated size dropped by 8.6 percent year on year, a decline narrowed by 2.9 percentage points compared with that of the first three months. Specifically, that of the information transmission, software and information technology services grew by 6.9 percent.
3. The Market Sales Picked up Gradually with Upgraded Consumer Goods and Online Retail Sales Continuing to Grow.
In May, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3,197.3 billion yuan, down by 2.8 percent year on year, registering a decline narrowed by 4.7 percentage points compared with that in April, and the month-on-month growth was 0.79 percent. In the first five months, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 13,873.0 billion yuan, down by 13.5 percent year on year, a decline narrowed by 2.7 percentage points over the first four months. In May, analyzed by different areas, the retail sales in urban areas reached 2,788.1 billion yuan, down by 2.8 percent year on year, and the retail sales in rural areas reached 409.2 billion yuan, down by 3.2 percent. Grouped by consumption patterns, the income of the catering was 301.3 billion yuan, down by 18.9 percent; and the retail sales of goods were 2,895.9 billion yuan, down by 0.8 percent. The retail sales of goods for basic living grew fast. In May, among the retail sales by businesses above the designated size, that of articles for daily use, beverage, and grain, oil and food went up by 17.3 percent, 16.7 percent and 11.4 percent year on year respectively. In May, sales of upgraded consumer goods continued to grow with that of sports and recreational articles and that of cosmetics up by 15.4 percent and 12.9 percent respectively, 3.8 percentage points and 9.4 percentage points higher than that in April; and that of automobiles up by 3.5 percent. The online retail sales continued to improve. The online retail sales in the first five months reached 4,017.6 billion yuan, up by 4.5 percent year on year, 2.8 percentage points higher than that of the first four months. Of the total, the online retail sales of physical goods went up by 11.5 percent, 2.9 percentage points higher than the first four months, accounting for 24.3 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods, or 0.2 percentage points higher than that of the first four months.
4. The Decline of Investment in Fixed Assets Narrowed Significantly, and the Growth of Investment in High-tech Industries and Social Sectors Shifted from Negative to Positive.
In the first five months, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) was 19,919.4 billion yuan, down by 6.3 percent year on year, or a decline narrowed by 4.0 percentage points compared with that of the first four months; and the month-on-month growth in May was 5.87 percent. Specifically, the investment in infrastructure dropped by 6.3 percent year on year, in manufacturing down by 14.8 percent and in real estate development down by 0.3 percent, the decline narrowed by 5.5 percentage points, 4.0 percentage points and 3.0 percentage points respectively compared with that of the first four months. The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 487.03 million square meters, down by 12.3 percent year on year, and the total sales of commercial buildings were 4,626.9 billion yuan, down by 10.6 percent, the decline narrowed by 7.0 percentage points and 8.0 percentage points respectively compared with that of the first four months. By industries, the investment in the primary industry maintained the same level as that of the same period last year, while it was down by 5.4 percent in the first four months ; that in the secondary industry dropped by 11.8 percent, and that in the tertiary industry dropped by 3.9 percent, the decline narrowed by 4.2 percentage points and 3.9 percentage points respectively compared with that of the first four months. The investment in high-tech industries went up by 1.9 percent, while that of the first four months was down by 3.0 percent. Specifically, the investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 2.7 percent and 0.5 percent respectively. In terms of high-tech manufacturing, the investment in manufacturing of computer and office equipment and manufacturing of medicines grew by 12.0 percent and 6.9 percent respectively. In terms of high-tech services, the investment in e-commerce services and services for commercialization of scientific and technological research findings grew by 25.4 percent and 25.2 percent respectively. The investment in social sectors went up by 3.6 percent, while that in the first four months was down by 3.1 percent. Specifically, the investment in education sector and in health sector went up by 10.4 percent and 9.5 percent respectively, or 7.5 percentage points and 4.8 percentage points faster than that of the first four months.
5. The Growth of Consumer Price Dropped, and the Decline of Producer Prices for Industrial Products Expanded.
In May, the consumer price went up by 2.4 percent year on year, 0.9 percentage points lower than the previous month, or down by 0.8 percent month on month. For the first five months, the consumer price went up by 4.1 percent year on year. Grouped by commodity categories, in May, prices for food, tobacco and alcohol went up by 8.5 percent year on year; clothing down by 0.4 percent; housing down by 0.5 percent; articles and services for daily use up by 0.1 percent; transport and communication down by 5.1 percent; education, culture and recreation up by 2.2 percent; medical services and health care up by 2.1 percent; other articles and services up by 5.3 percent. Among the prices for food, tobacco and alcohol, the price for pork went up by 81.7 percent, grain up by 1.5 percent, fresh vegetables down by 8.5 percent and fresh fruits down by 19.3 percent. Core CPI excluding the prices of food and energy went up by 1.1 percent, the same level as April.
In May, the producer prices for industrial products went down by 3.7 percent year on year, a decline expanded by 0.6 percentage points compared with that in April, or down by 0.4 percent month on month. The purchasing prices for industrial producers went down by 5.0 percent year on year, or down by 1.2 percent month on month. For the first five months, the producer prices for industrial products and the purchasing prices for industrial producers went down by 1.7 percent and 2.2 percent year on year respectively.
6. The Urban Surveyed Unemployment Rate was Generally Stable with the Newly Increased Employment Witnessing a Small Decline.
In May, the urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.9 percent, 0.1 percentage points lower than that of April, among which, the surveyed unemployment rate for population aged from 25 to 59 was 5.4 percent, down by 0.1 percentage points. The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.9 percent, 0.1 percentage points higher than April. In May, the employees of enterprises worked averagely 46.1 hours per week, an increase of 1.8 hours over last month. In the first five months, the newly increased employed people in urban areas numbered 4.60 million, 1.37 million less compared with the increase of same period last year.
7. The Export of Goods Maintained Growth and the Trade Surplus Expanded Slightly.
In May, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 2,469.6 billion yuan, a decrease of 4.9 percent year on year. Specifically, the total value of exports was 1,456.2 billion yuan, up by 1.4 percent; the total value of imports was 1,013.4 billion yuan, down by 12.7 percent. The trade balance was 442.7 billion yuan in surplus, 124.6 billion yuan more than that in April. In the first five months, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 11,538.1 billion yuan, down by 4.9 percent year on year. Specifically, the value of exports was 6,198.9 billion yuan, down by 4.7 percent; the value of imports was 5,339.1 billion yuan, down by 5.2 percent. The trade structure continued to be optimized. In the first five months, the value of general trade accounted for 59.9 percent of the total value of imports and exports, 0.1 percentage points higher than the same period last year. The total value of imports and exports by private enterprises accounted for 44.3 percent of the total value of imports and exports, 2.9 percentage points higher than the same period last year.
8. The Financial Credit Grew Fast and the Market Expectation was Generally Stable.
By the end of May, the Aggregate Financing to the Real Economy (AFRE)(stock) totaled 268 trillion yuan, an increase of 12.5 percent year on year. Specifically, the loans granted to the real economy in Renminbi stood at 162 trillion yuan, up by 13.3 percent. The balance of broad money (M2) was 210 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.1 percent year on year, growing at the same speed as the end of April. The balance of narrow money (M1) was 58 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.8 percent, 1.3 percentage points faster than that at the end of April. The balance of cash in circulation (M0) was 8 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.5 percent. By the end of May, loans in Renminbi were 163 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.2 percent year on year, 0.1 percentage points faster than the end of April. In May, the newly increased loans in Renminbi were 1.48 trillion yuan, up by 298.4 billion yuan year on year.
In May, the Composite Output Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was 53.4 percent, the same as April. The Manufacturing PMI was 50.6 percent, 0.2 percentage points lower than April. The non-manufacturing business activity index was 53.6 percent, 0.4 percentage points higher than April. Specifically, the business activity index for construction was 60.8 percent, up by 1.1 percentage points. The business activity index for services was 52.3 percent, up by 0.2 percentage points.
Generally speaking, with the performance of the main economic indicators improving in May, the national economy continued to recover. However, we should be aware that the situation of covid-19 spread abroad and world economy is getting more severe and complicated, and the steady performance of the national economy is still faced with mounting risks and challenges. For the next step, under the guidance of the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we must implement the spirit of the the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the Report on the Work of the Government, carry out covid-19 control and promote economic and social development to fulfill the targets and tasks for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. We must continue to follow the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, and apply the new development philosophy. We must make progress in the three critical battles, step up efforts to ensure stability on six fronts (employment, the financial sector, foreign trade, foreign investment, domestic investment, and expectations), maintain security in six areas (job security, basic living needs, operations of market entities, food and energy security, stable industrial and supply chains, and the normal functioning of primary-level governments) and focus on the early delivery and effective realization of policies and measures so as to meet the annual targets for the economic and social development.
（Source：National Bureau of Statistics of China）
