National Bureau of Statistics of China

17 March 2025

In the first two months, under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, all regions and departments strictly implemented the decisions and arrangements made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, fully and faithfully applied the new development philosophy on all fronts, accelerated the efforts to create a new pattern of development and took solid steps to promote high-quality development. As a result, a package of existing and incremental policies continued to take effect, industrial and service sectors grew rapidly, consumption and investment continued to improve, employment was generally stable, and new quality productive forces grew and thrived. The national economy got off to a steady start with new and positive development momentum.

1. Industrial Production Grew Fast with Growth of Equipment Manufacturing and High-Tech Manufacturing Accelerated.

In the first two months, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 5.9 percent year on year, 0.1 percentage points faster than that of 2024. In terms of sectors, the value added of mining went up by 4.3 percent year on year, manufacturing up by 6.9 percent and the production and supply of electricity, heat power, gas and water up by 1.1 percent. The value added of equipment manufacturing increased by 10.6 percent year on year, 2.9 percentage points faster than that of 2024. The value added of high-tech manufacturing increased by 9.1 percent, 0.2 percentage points faster. An analysis by types of ownership showed that the value added of state holding enterprises was up by 3.7 percent year on year; that of share-holding enterprises was up by 6.6 percent; that of enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan was up by 3.2 percent; and that of private enterprises was up by 6.7 percent. In terms of products, the production of new energy vehicles, 3D printing devices and industrial robots grew by 47.7 percent, 30.2 percent and 27.0 percent year on year respectively. In February, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size went up by 0.51 percent month on month. In February, the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 50.2 percent, 1.1 percentage points higher than that of January; the Production and Operation Expectation Index was 54.5 percent.

2. Service Sector Witnessed a Good Momentum of Growth and Modern Services Grew Rapidly.

In the first two months, the Index of Services Production grew by 5.6 percent year on year, 0.4 percentage points faster than that of 2024. Specifically, the Index of Services Production of information transmission, software and information technology services, leasing and business services, wholesales and retails and finance grew by 9.3 percent, 8.8 percent, 5.6 percent and 5.5 percent year on year respectively. In February, the Business Activity Index for Services was 50.0 percent; the Business Activity Expectation Index for Services was 56.9 percent. Specifically, the Business Activity Index for industries like air transportation, postal services, telecommunication, broadcast, television and satellite transmission services, monetary and financial services and capital market services stayed within the high expansion range of 55.0 percent and above.

3. Growth of Market Sales Accelerated and Trade-in Goods Showed Good Sales.

In the first two months, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 8,373.1 billion yuan, up by 4.0 percent year on year, 0.5 percentage points faster compared with that of 2024. Analyzed by different areas, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 7,246.2 billion yuan, up by 3.8 percent; and that in rural areas reached 1,126.9 billion yuan, up by 4.6 percent. Grouped by consumption patterns, the retail sales of goods were 7,393.9 billion yuan, up by 3.9 percent; the income of catering was 979.2 billion yuan, up by 4.3 percent. Sales of basic living goods and certain upgraded goods enjoyed sound growth. The retail sales of grain, oil and food and of sports and recreational articles by enterprises above the designated size went up by 11.5 percent and 25.0 percent respectively. The effect of trade-in of consumer goods continued to manifest, with the retail sales of communication equipment, cultural and office supplies, furniture, household appliances and audio-visual equipment by enterprises above the designated size growing by 26.2 percent, 21.8 percent, 11.7 percent and 10.9 percent respectively. The online retail sales reached 2,276.3 billion yuan, up by 7.3 percent year on year. Specifically, the online retail sales of physical goods were 1,863.3 billion yuan, up by 5.0 percent, accounting for 22.3 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods. In February, the total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 0.35 percent compared with that of the previous month. In the first two months, the retail sales of services grew by 4.9 percent year on year.

4. Growth of Investment in Fixed Assets Picked up and Investment in Manufacturing and High-Tech Industries Grew Fast.

In the first two months, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 5,261.9 billion yuan, up by 4.1 percent year on year, 0.9 percentage points faster than that of 2024; the investment in fixed assets was up by 8.4 percent with the investment in real estate development deducted. Specifically, the investment in infrastructure grew by 5.6 percent year on year, that in manufacturing grew by 9.0 percent, and that in real estate development declined by 9.8 percent. The floor space of newly-built commercial buildings sold was 107.46 million square meters, down by 5.1 percent year on year, a decline narrowed by 7.8 percentage points compared with that of 2024; the total sales of newly-built commercial buildings were 1,025.9 billion yuan, down by 2.6 percent, a decline narrowed by 14.5 percentage points. By industry, the investment in the primary industry increased by 12.2 percent year on year, that in the secondary industry up by 11.4 percent, and that in the tertiary industry up by 0.7 percent. The private investment maintained the same level year on year, or increased by 6.0 percent with the investment in real estate development deducted. The investment in high-tech industries grew by 9.7 percent year on year, of which the investment in information services, e-commerce services, computer and office device manufacturing, and aerospace vehicle and equipment manufacturing grew by 66.4 percent, 31.9 percent, 31.6 percent and 27.1 percent respectively. In February, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) increased by 0.49 percent over that of the previous month.

5. Imports and Exports of Goods were Generally Stable and Trade Structure Continued to Optimize.

In the first two months, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 6,536.4 billion yuan, down by 1.2 percent year on year. Specifically, the value of exports was 3,881.2 billion yuan, up by 3.4 percent, and the value of imports was 2,655.1 billion yuan, down by 7.3 percent. The imports and exports by private enterprises went up by 2.0 percent, accounting for 56.4 percent of the total value of imports and exports, 1.8 percentage points higher than that of the same period last year. The exports of mechanical and electrical products went up by 5.4 percent, accounting for 60.0 percent of the total value of exports.

6. Employment was Generally Stable and Urban Surveyed Unemployment Rate was Steady.

In the first two months, the urban surveyed unemployment rate averaged 5.3 percent. In February, the urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, 0.2 percentage points higher than that of the previous month. The surveyed unemployment rate of population with local household registration was 5.6 percent and that of population with non-local household registration was 5.0 percent, among which, the rate of the population with non-local agricultural household registration was 5.1 percent. The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.2 percent. The employees of enterprises worked 47.1 hours per week on average.

7. Consumer Price Dropped Year on Year and Decline of Producer Prices for Industrial Products Narrowed.

In the first two months, the consumer price index (CPI) went down by 0.1 percent year on year. Specifically, it increased by 0.5 percent in January and decreased by 0.7 percent in February. Grouped by commodity categories, in the first two months, prices for food, tobacco and alcohol went down by 0.7 percent year on year; clothing up by 1.1 percent; housing up by 0.1 percent; articles and services for daily use down by 0.9 percent; transportation and communication down by 1.6 percent; education, culture and recreation up by 0.6 percent; medical services and health care up by 0.4 percent; and other articles and services up by 5.9 percent. Among the prices for food, tobacco and alcohol, the price for fresh vegetables went down by 5.5 percent, grain down by 1.4 percent, fresh fruits down by 0.6 percent, and pork up by 8.8 percent. The core CPI excluding the prices of food and energy went up by 0.3 percent year on year. In January and February, the consumer price index went up by 0.7 percent and down by 0.2 percent month on month respectively.

In the first two months, the producer prices for industrial products went down by 2.2 percent year on year. In January, the producer prices for industrial products went down by 2.3 percent year on year, or down by 0.2 percent month on month. In February, it went down by 2.2 percent year on year, a decline narrowed by 0.1 percentage points compared with that of the previous month, or down by 0.1 percent month on month. In the first two months, the purchasing prices for industrial producers dropped by 2.3 percent year on year.

Generally speaking, in the first two months, with the sustained effects of macro policies, the national economy maintained the new and positive development momentum and the quality of development improved steadily. However, we should be aware that the external environment is increasingly complex and severe, the domestic effective demand is weak, some enterprises face difficulties in production and operation, and the foundation for sustained economic recovery and growth is not strong enough. At the next stage, we must follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the spirits of the Central Economic Work Conference and the “two sessions” (National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference), adhere to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts, move faster to create a new pattern of development, and make solid progress in high-quality development. We must implement more proactive and effective macro policies, stimulate domestic demand across the board, further deepen reform and opening up, and make every effort to strengthen growth drivers, boost economic vitality and improve expectations, so as to promote sustained economic recovery and growth.

Notes:

1. The growth rates of value added of industrial enterprises above designated size and its sub-items are calculated at comparable prices. Both are real growth rates. The growth rates of other indicators are nominal growth by using current prices unless otherwise specified.

2. Industrial enterprises above designated size are industrial enterprises with annual revenue from principal business over 20 million yuan.

As industrial enterprises above the designated size change every year, to ensure the data comparability between years, the coverage of the data of the same period last year used for estimating year-on-year growth rates like that of product output, is as consistent as possible with the current period and different from the coverage of the data published last year. The main reasons are as follows: First, the statistical units change. Every year, some enterprises are included in the survey as they meet the threshold, while some enterprises are removed from the survey because of downsizing. Besides, enterprises that have newly gone into operation, been bankrupted, canceled their registrations or had their business licenses revoked also cause impact. Second, duplicated outputs across regions of enterprise groups have been removed based on the ad hoc surveys since duplication is found in the product output of some enterprise groups.

3. The Index of Services Production is the change of production in the reporting period compared to the base period with the price factors deducted.

4. The scope of the total retail sales of consumer goods includes all legal entities, establishments and self-employed units involved in retail trades or providing catering services. Specifically, businesses above the designated size include wholesale enterprises (businesses, self-employed units), retail enterprises (businesses, self-employed units) and lodging and catering enterprises (businesses, self-employed units) with annual revenue from principal businesses over 20 million yuan, 5 million yuan and 2 million yuan respectively.

As the wholesale, retail, and lodging and catering enterprises (businesses, self-employed units) above the designated size change every year, to ensure the data comparability between years, the coverage of the data of the same period last year used for estimating year-on-year growth rates like that of the retail sales of consumer goods by businesses above the designated size is consistent with the current period and different from the coverage of data published last year. The main reasons are: some enterprises (businesses, self-employed units) are included in the survey as they meet the threshold, while some enterprises (businesses, self-employed units) are removed from the survey because of downsizing every year. Besides, enterprises (businesses, self-employed units) that have newly gone into operation, been bankrupted, canceled their registrations or had their business licenses revoked also cause impact.

Online retail sales refer to the retail sales of goods and services realized through internet trading platforms (including self-built websites and third-party platforms). Goods and services include physical goods and non-physical goods (e.g. virtual goods and services).

The total retail sales of consumer goods include the online retail sales of physical goods, but not the non-physical goods.

Data of total retail sales of consumer goods and online retail sales were revised according to the result of the Fifth National Economic Census. The monthly growth rates of relevant indicators of total retail sales of consumer goods and online retail sales in 2025 are calculated on a comparable basis.

5. The retail sales of services refer to the total value of services directly provided by enterprises (establishments, self-employed units) to individuals and other units for non-production and non-operating purposes in the form of transactions. It aims to reflect the value of services with the nature of consumption sold by service providers in monetary terms, including the retail sales of services in transportation, accommodation, catering, education, health, sports, entertainment, and other fields.

6. Data of investment in fixed assets of the same period last year were revised according to the results of methodology reform of investment statistics, the Fifth National Economic Census and the statistical law enforcement. The growth rates of investment in fixed assets are calculated on a comparable basis.

7. Data of imports and exports are from the General Administration of Customs.

8. Employed people refer to people aged 16 and above who have the ability to work and engage in gainful employment for remuneration payment or business income.

9. Due to the rounding-off reasons, the subentries may not add up to the aggregate totals.

In case of any differences between English translation and the original Chinese text, the Chinese edition shall prevail.