Skip to content 
In the first two months, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 5.5% year-on-year, and the total import and export of goods increased by 8.7%; in February, the urban surveyed unemployment rate dropped by 0.3 percentage points year-on-year; in March, China’s manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) returned to expansion Interval…
In a critical year to achieve the goals and tasks of the “14th Five-Year Plan”, China’s economy has achieved a “good start”. Recently, the domestic market is expected to continue to improve, the consumer market is surging, and the economic rebound is clear; many foreign media have also published reports, optimistic about China’s development potential. Singapore’s “Lianhe Zaobao” reported that “the latest PMI data returned to the line of prosperity and contraction, indicating that China’s economy has found a new growth engine.”
At the end of the first quarter, reporters sorted out the published economic indicators, touched the pulse of economic development on the ground, observed China’s economic performance from multiple dimensions, and sensed confidence in economic and social development.
(1) The economy started off smoothly but continued to improve.
Entering March, spring plowing and production are in full swing from south to north. Walking in the fields, from driverless plowing machines to smart seedling raising centers, various places are looking to science and technology for food and sowing the hope of a bumper harvest in the fields.
Food security is the “biggest thing in a country” and the foundation for economic development. According to the agricultural situation dispatch of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, as of April 8, 11% of the intended area for spring sowing of grain across the country has been completed, and the intended area for spring sowing of grain has increased steadily compared with the previous year.
Since the beginning of this year, all localities and departments have been full of energy, and all walks of life have forged ahead to promote high-quality development with new atmosphere and new actions. Published major economic indicators show that China’s economy has started steadily and is rising steadily:
——From a macroeconomic perspective, in the first two months, fixed asset investment increased by 4.2% year-on-year, with private investment growth turning from negative to positive; service retail sales increased by 12.3%; total import and export of goods increased by 8.7%, of which exports increased by 10.3%. The national economy continues to rebound and improve.
The balance of payments reflects a country’s influence on the world economy. As of the end of March, my country’s foreign exchange reserves were US$3.2457 billion, an increase of 0.62% from the end of February.
——From the perspective of industry performance, in the first two months, the profits of industrial enterprises above designated size in the country shifted from a 2.3% decline in the previous year to a year-on-year increase of 10.2%; the service industry production index increased by 5.8%, and the development of most industries continued to recover.
New kinetic energy products are growing rapidly. In the first two months, the added value of equipment manufacturing above designated size increased by 8.6% year-on-year, and the added value of high-tech manufacturing increased by 7.5%; the output of new energy vehicles, charging piles and other products increased by 25.6% and 41.8% respectively, and the output of smartphones increased by 31.3% .
From the first domestically produced large-scale cruise ship “Aida·Modu” to launch its commercial maiden voyage, to the self-developed AG60E electric aircraft to achieve its first flight, good news has been received from major projects this year, which is a vivid portrayal of the accelerated cultivation of new quality productivity in our country. .
“The new drug developed by the company has achieved breakthroughs in ALS after completing the third phase clinical trial for stroke in China. It has completed the bioequivalence test and plans to submit a new drug marketing application to the US FDA in June this year.” Suzhou Aozong Biotechnology Co., Ltd. The person in charge of the company said that another indication of this new drug is autism in children, which is expected to break the current situation of “no drugs available” in the field of autism in children around the world.
——From the perspective of enterprise development, in March, the manufacturing PMI rose to 50.8% after contracting for five consecutive months. Among them, the PMI of medium and small enterprises rose to 50.6% and 50.3% respectively, both rising to 50.8% for the first time in 12 months. The expansion range shows that market confidence is steadily recovering.
More indicators send signals of good business performance: In March, the operating vitality index of technological innovation enterprises increased by 27.9% year-on-year, and the operating vitality index of entrepreneurial enterprises increased by 14.6% year-on-year…
(2) The accumulation of endogenous kinetic energy enhances development vitality and continues to demonstrate
Stations and airports are crowded, long queues form in front of restaurants, and it is hard to get a ticket at popular scenic spots… During the Qingming Festival that just passed, there were 119 million domestic tourist trips and domestic tourists spent 53.95 billion yuan on travel, an increase of 11.5% on a comparable basis compared with the same period in 2019. ,12.7%.
Traveling from south to north, east to west, and the bustling travel and consumption scene has released a strong sense of accelerating the recovery of China’s economic endogenous energy.
Returning to the expansion range – In March, China’s logistics industry prosperity index was 51.5%, an increase of 4.4 percentage points from the previous month.
“As the resumption of work and production accelerates, upstream and downstream activities in the supply chain become more active, driving the recovery of logistics demand to accelerate, and indicators such as the total business volume index and new order index have rebounded.” He Hui, chief economist of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing explain.
Transportation and logistics are the “main arteries” of economic circulation. Since the beginning of this year, many statistical indicators in the transportation and logistics industry have achieved positive growth. In the first two months, operational passenger traffic increased by 27.4% year-on-year, freight volume increased by 7.5%, and postal industry delivery business volume increased by 25.1%.
“As the endogenous dynamic energy of the economy is gradually restored, the flow of people and logistics elements becomes more active, which is conducive to the gradual improvement of the economic cycle.” said Liu Aihua, spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics.
Looking at the consumer market, service consumption potential has been released, and new consumption formats have emerged with vitality——
Since the beginning of this year, from the “Erbin” ice and snow tour to the “hot out of the circle” in Gansu Tianshui Malatang, IPs have emerged one after another, and consumption scenarios continue to be new.
The main engine of consumption is strong. In the first two months, total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 5.5% year-on-year. In terms of new consumption growth points, digital, green and health products such as digital music, energy-saving washing machines and ski equipment increased by 95.1%, 167.5% and 66.4% respectively.
Driven by the rapid growth of consumer demand, prices stabilized and rebounded. In February, the national consumer price index turned from a decrease of 0.8% in the previous month to an increase of 0.7%; it increased by 1.0% month-on-month. In March, China’s commodity price index increased by 0.6% month-on-month.
According to calculations by the National Information Center, in the first quarter, the popularity index of people in offline business districts and the popularity index of life services consumption increased by 9.9% and over 30% year-on-year respectively. These “high-frequency indicators” that directly reflect the economic situation show that consumption continues to be stable and positive.
(3) The continuous release of the “magnetic attraction” of the big market provides new opportunities for the world
On the morning of March 24, the first thematic seminar of the 2024 annual meeting of the China Development Forum, focusing on “The Momentum and Prospects of China’s Sustainable Development”, was held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. The venue was packed with seats.
Synopsys President Ge Sixin, who participated in the China Development Forum for the first time, said that China has been one of the fastest-growing markets in the world for Synopsys over the past 10 years. This annual meeting is aimed at finding technological innovations and talents for future industries such as artificial intelligence. Cultivate new opportunities for collaboration.
Recently, from the new opportunities for China’s development becoming the focus at the Boao Forum for Asia, to the first landmark event of “Invest in China” that attracted more than 140 entrepreneurs and representatives of foreign business associations in China, to Apple CEO Tim Ku More than 100 heads of multinational companies including Croft have visited China intensively, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen has visited China. The “magnetic attraction” of the Chinese market has continued to be released, effectively boosting global development confidence.
Based on the high base in the same period last year, in the first two months of this year, my country’s actual use of foreign capital was 215.09 billion yuan. Although it has declined, it is still the third highest level in the past 10 years. The investment structure continued to be optimized, with high-tech industries attracting 71.44 billion yuan of investment, accounting for 33.2% of the actual amount of foreign capital used.
Judging from the general trend of future development, our country’s economy is highly resilient, has great potential, and is full of vitality. The basic trend of rebounding and long-term improvement will not change, and will continue to provide new opportunities for the world with China’s new development –
This is a dynamic consumer market: it has the world’s second largest consumer market and the largest online retail market, and has huge potential for improving the quality and expansion of consumption in elderly care, education, culture, tourism, sports, and green living with a population of more than 1.4 billion.
This is a hot spot for investment with huge space: as of the end of February, the total number of 5G base stations in China reached 3.509 million, and the integration of digital technology and the real economy has broad prospects. At the same time, the per capita infrastructure capital stock is currently only 20% to 30% of that in developed countries, and there is broad room for investment in optimizing the structure to make up for shortcomings.
A more open and high-quality China will continue to provide impetus for world economic growth:
The fourth Consumer Expo has attracted more than 3,000 brands from 59 countries and regions to participate in the exhibition; the 135th Canton Fair has already had 93,000 buyers from 215 countries and regions complete pre-registration, and more than 220 leading companies and Industrial and commercial organizations confirmed that they organized delegations to participate, and the scale exceeded the same period in previous years…
“China’s economy will rebound strongly after the epidemic in 2023, with a growth rate of more than 5%. China will continue to be an important contributor to global economic growth in the future.” International Monetary Fund President Georgieva said.
