The Information Office of the State Council held a press conference on the morning of April 16, and the relevant person in charge of the National Bureau of Statistics released the main data of the national economic operation in the first quarter.
According to preliminary calculations, in the first quarter of 2024, the GDP will 296299 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.3% at constant prices. By industry, the added value of the primary industry was 1,153.8 billion yuan, up by 3.3 percent year-on-year, the added value of the secondary industry was 109846 billion yuan, up by 6.0 percent, and the added value of the tertiary industry was 174915 billion yuan, up by 5.0 percent.
In the first quarter, industrial production grew rapidly. The added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.1 percent year-on-year, and the added value of high-tech manufacturing increased by 7.5 percent, 2.6 percentage points faster than that of the fourth quarter of last year. From January to February, the total profit of industrial enterprises above designated size reached 914.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.2 percent.
In the first quarter, market sales grew steadily, and service consumption grew rapidly. The total retail sales of consumer goods 120327 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%. Retail sales of services increased by 10.0% year-on-year.
The total import and export volume of goods was 101693 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.0%, and the trade structure continued to be optimized. The country's investment in fixed assets increased by 4.5 percent year-on-year, 1.5 percentage points faster than that of the previous year, and investment in high-tech industries grew rapidly.
In the first quarter, consumer prices across the country were flat year-on-year, and the employment situation was generally stable. The income of residents has grown steadily, and the income of rural residents has grown faster than that of urban residents.
Sheng Laiyun, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics, said that on the whole, the national economy had a good start in the first quarter, and the accumulation of positive factors increased, laying a good foundation for achieving the goals and tasks for the whole year.
Consumption contributed 73.7% to economic growth in the first quarter
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In the economic data of the first quarter, we also selected several bright spots: strong consumption vitality, overall stable prices, continuous cultivation of new quality productivity, and industrial recovery. First of all, in terms of consumption, in the first quarter, consumption contributed 73.7% to economic growth, which played an important supporting role in the economic recovery.
In the first quarter, physical consumption was generally stable. The total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 4.7% year-on-year in the first quarter, and the total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 12 trillion yuan.
At the same time, the consumption of services grew rapidly. Retail sales of services in the first quarter increased by 10% year-on-year, 6 percentage points higher than retail sales of goods. Residents' consumption expenditure on services accounted for 43.3 percent, an increase of 1.6 percentage points over the same period last year. Consumption of services is accelerating.
In addition, online consumption continues to be strong. In the first quarter, online retail sales of physical goods increased by 11.6% year-on-year, driven by some new technologies, new online sales models continue to innovate and continue to set new sales records.
Since the beginning of this year, mainland residents' upgraded consumption has continued to improve. From a retail point of view, the sales of sports and entertainment goods and communication equipment have increased by more than double digits year-on-year. From the perspective of residents, spending on transportation and communications, education, culture and entertainment also increased by double digits.
The consumer price index (CPI) was generally stable in the first quarter
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Consumption is full of vitality, and at the same time, the consumer price index (CPI) is generally stable. The official website of the National Bureau of Statistics released a trend chart of the rise and fall of consumer prices across the country, with the blue one being year-on-year and the yellow one being month-on-month. It can be seen that in March 2024, the national consumer price rose by 0.1% year-on-year and decreased by 1.0% month-on-month. At the press conference, Sheng Laiyun, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics, said that the data in March was mainly due to the seasonal decline in prices after the Spring Festival, and the prices of food prices, tourism and other services fell significantly. From a quarterly point of view, the consumer price index is generally stable.
Sheng Laiyun said that from the CPI index itself, the CPI was negative in the fourth quarter of last year, and the average CPI in the fourth quarter was -0.3%, while the CPI in the first quarter of this year was flat year-on-year. From a quarter-on-quarter perspective, the first quarter of this year is still 0.3 percentage points higher than the fourth quarter of last year, which is consistent with the economic recovery and good operation.
Sheng Laiyun said that from the perspective of the future trend, residential prices will slowly rise at a low level. On the one hand, the economy continues to improve and aggregate demand is rebounding, which is a very important fundamental factor to support the rebound of CPI. In addition, the prices of some agricultural products have also reached an inflection point in price adjustment, such as the price of live pigs. The next holiday consumption, including "May Day", will continue to drive the recovery of tourism-related travel consumer prices.
New quality productivity is constantly being cultivated and developed
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Judging from the relevant data in the first quarter, the development of new quality productivity has also begun to show new results in some industries and products.
From the perspective of new industries, the development of emerging industries continues to accelerate. In the first quarter, the added value of the high-tech manufacturing industry above designated size increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year, an increase of 2.6 percentage points over the fourth quarter of last year; the high-tech service industry continued to maintain a relatively rapid growth trend, and the added value of the information transmission, software, and information technology service industry increased by 13.7 percent, an increase of 2.5 percentage points over the fourth quarter of last year.
New investment and new infrastructure continue to show a good momentum of development. In the first quarter, investment in high-tech industries increased by 11.4 percent year-on-year, an increase of 1.1 percentage points over last year, and investment in high-tech services increased by 12.7 percent.
The upward trend of the industrial economy will continue to be maintained
Sheng Laiyun, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics, said at the press conference that under the influence of a variety of factors, the industrial recovery in the first quarter was good, and from the perspective of future development, the industrial economy will continue to recover. However, he also said that China is still in the stage of structural adjustment, transformation and upgrading, and some enterprises have to carry out transformation and upgrading, so they have to bear some transformation pains.
Sheng Laiyun introduced that the industrial recovery in the first quarter was better, first of all, it was promoted by the policy, and the confidence in the development of enterprises was increasing.
At the same time, there were positive changes in domestic and foreign demand in the first quarter. Exports in the first quarter were better than expected, and the export delivery value of industrial products was 0.8% in the first quarter of this year, up 3 percentage points from the fourth quarter of last year. From the perspective of domestic demand, the added value of consumer goods in the first quarter of this year increased by 4.2 percent year-on-year, up by more than 4 percentage points.
In addition, the industrial recovery is also related to the promotion of some recent policies.
Sheng Laiyun introduced that the central government has introduced a large-scale equipment renovation and consumer goods trade-in policy, which has also enhanced the confidence of enterprises to a certain extent, and some enterprises can schedule production in advance. There is also a reason for the good rebound, which is related to the continuous cultivation and driving of new kinetic energy.
Sheng Laiyun said that from the perspective of the future trend, due to several reasons to support the industrial rebound will continue to play a role in the coming period, so the comprehensive judgment is that the industrial economy will continue to maintain a positive trend.
Sheng Laiyun said at the press conference: "In the next stage, China is still in the critical stage of structural adjustment, transformation and upgrading, and some enterprises want to carry out transformation and upgrading, so everyone has to bear some pains of transformation." Due to the adjustment of traditional industries and the cultivation of new kinetic energy, it is normal for some economic growth fluctuations to occur, but the quality of development is continuously improving, and high-quality development is constantly improving, which is the fundamental condition of China's economic recovery. ”
Source: CCTV News
Editor: Zeng Jiayi
Editor-in-charge: Gao Yang Review: Du Hongli Final review: Zou Yan