National Bureau of Statistics： The fundamentals of China’s long-term economic improvement have not changed

　　On the morning of July 17th, the State Council Press Office held a press conference to introduce the national economy in the first half of 2023 and answer questions from reporters.

　　Fu Linghui, spokesman of the National Bureau of Statistics, said that in the first half of this year, the overall economic recovery in China improved, and the overall economic operation showed a good trend of recovery. With the economy and society fully returning to normal operation, the main indicators have generally improved, new kinetic energy has grown stronger, the quality of development has steadily improved, and people’s lives have continued to improve, laying a solid foundation for achieving the expected goals of economic and social development throughout the year.

　　From the next stage, although the external environment is becoming more complicated and severe, and the domestic economic development is also under pressure, the fundamentals of China’s long-term economic improvement have not changed, and the characteristics of strong resilience, great potential and full vitality have not changed, and the conditions for supporting high-quality development have not changed. With the accumulation of positive factors promoting development, the economy is expected to continue to recover.

　　First, the pull of consumption continues to increase. Since the beginning of this year, all aspects have actively resumed and expanded consumption, and the consumption potential has been gradually released, which has significantly enhanced the impetus to economic growth and played an important role in promoting economic recovery. In the first half of the year, the contribution rate of final consumption expenditure growth to economic growth reached 77.2%, which was significantly higher than that of last year. In the next stage, the employment situation will continue to improve, and residents’ income will continue to increase, which will help to promote residents’ consumption ability and willingness. At the same time, promoting the sales of new energy vehicles and green smart home appliances will be effective, which will help to expand consumption and promote economic recovery.

　　Second, the service industry is developing well. With the full recovery of normal operation of the economy and society, the growth of the service industry has obviously accelerated, especially the contact service industries such as wholesale and retail, accommodation and catering, and transportation have rebounded significantly, contributing to economic growth. The contribution rate of service industry growth to economic growth in the first half of the year exceeded 60%. In the next stage, the consumer demand for services such as cultural tourism, fitness and sports will be released faster, and the productive demand for R&D, design and business exhibitions will increase, which will drive the service industry to maintain rapid growth and help the economy run stably. Judging from the business activity index of service industry, the business activity index of service industry was 52.8% in June, which was in the boom zone for six consecutive months.

　　Third, new kinetic energy has developed and grown. China has deeply implemented the innovation-driven development strategy and strengthened its strategic scientific and technological strength. Modern information technology, artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies are widely used, and innovative achievements are constantly emerging, and new industries and new products are growing well. Since the beginning of this year, the domestic large aircraft C919 has completed its first commercial flight, the world’s first 16 MW offshore wind turbine has been hoisted, and scientific and technological innovation has continued to empower high-quality development. We should also see that the consumption growth of smart products has also continued to increase, which has also driven the growth of related manufacturing industries. In the first half of the year, the added value of smart consumer equipment manufacturing industry increased by 12% year-on-year. At the same time, around the project of overcoming the "bottleneck", the manufacturing industry of semiconductor-related industries grew rapidly in the first half of the year, and the added value of the manufacturing industry of special equipment for semiconductor devices increased by 30.9%. In terms of products, some new materials and intelligent products grew rapidly. In the first half of the year, the output of aerospace aluminum, industrial control computers and systems increased by 23.3% and 34.1% respectively. The continuous enhancement of innovation kinetic energy in the next stage will inject new impetus into economic development.

　　Fourth, the effectiveness of green transformation has emerged. The pace of green energy development has been accelerated, green production and lifestyle have been accelerated, and the synergistic development effect of green transformation and economic growth has been constantly emerging. In the first half of the year, the output of new energy products such as new energy vehicles, solar cells and charging piles increased by 35%, 54.5% and 53.1% respectively, and the export of "new three products" represented by lithium batteries, solar cells and electric manned vehicles increased by 61.6%. In the next stage, green development is full of kinetic energy, which will help the transformation of kinetic energy of economic growth while promoting the quality improvement of economic development.

　　Generally speaking, since the beginning of this year, China’s economy has gradually got rid of the impact of the epidemic and returned to the normal operation track, showing a good recovery trend. From the perspective of the whole year, despite the pressure and challenges, with the improvement of employment, the increase of residents’ income, the gradual strengthening of domestic demand, the optimization and adjustment of supply structure, and the growth of new kinetic energy, the economy will recover steadily and the quality of development will continue to improve. Therefore, we are fully confident, qualified and capable of accomplishing the expected goals and tasks of economic and social development throughout the year.