The gross domestic product (GDP) of China was 19,878.3 billion yuan (US$3,141 billion) in Q1 2018, a year-on-year increase of 6.8% at comparable prices according to the preliminary estimates of National Bureau of Statistics of China.
Agricultural Production was Sound.
The output of pork, beef, mutton, and poultry was 23.16 million tons, a year-on-year growth of 1.8%, among which the output of pork was 15.43 million tons, up by 2.1%. The number of pigs registered was 415.23 million, a year-on-year decrease of 1.2% and that of pigs slaughtered 199.83 million, a year-on-year growth of 1.9%.
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The Industrial Production was Generally Stable.
The year-on-year real growth rate of total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was 6.8%, 0.4 percentage point slower than the first two months, growing at the same speed as Q1 2017.
An analysis by types of ownership showed that the value added of the state holding enterprises went up by 7.9% year-on-year; collective enterprises up by 0.1%; share-holding enterprises up by 7.0%; and enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan up by 5.5%.
In terms of sectors, the value added of the mining grew by 0.9% on a year-on-year basis, the manufacturing grew by 7.0% and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas, and water grew by 10.8%.
The new industries and new products grew rapidly. The value added of high-tech industry and equipment manufacturing industry grew by 11.9% and 8.8% year-on-year respectively, 5.1 percentage points and 2.0 percentage points faster than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size as a whole. The production of integrated circuits, new energy vehicles, and industrial robots grew by 15.2%, 139.4%, and 29.6% respectively.
The sales-output ratio of the industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 97.9%, 0.3 percentage point higher than Q1 2017.In March, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size went up by 6.0% year-on-year, or up by 0.33% month-on-month.
In March, the manufacturing PMI was 51.5%, 1.2 percentage points higher than last month. In the first two months of 2018, the total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size was 968.9 billion yuan, up by 16.1% year-on-year. The profit rate from principal businesses of industrial enterprises above the designated size was 6.1%, 0.33 percentage point higher than that of the same period last year.
Service Industry Grew Fast.
The Index of Services Production increased by 8.1% year-on-year, 0.1 percentage point faster than the first two months, and 0.2 percentage point slower than Q1 2017. Specifically, information transmission, software and information technology services, rental and business services maintained high growth rates.
In March, the Business Activity Index for services was 53.6%, 0.2 percentage point lower than last month but still higher than the average of last year.
In terms of sectors, railway transport, air transport, postal services, telecommunication, broadcast, television and satellite transmission services, internet and software information technology services, monetary and financial services, capital market services, and insurance all kept within the expansion range of 55% and above. As regards market expectation, the Business Activities Expectation Index was 60.1%, maintaining above 60.0% for 10 months in a row.
Private Investment Grew Faster.
The investment in fixed assets (excluding by rural households) was 10,076.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 7.5%, 0.4 percentage point slower than the first two months, and 1.7 percentage points lower than Q1 2017.
Specifically, the private investment reached 6,238.6 billion yuan, up by 8.9%, 0.8 percentage point faster than the first two months, 1.2 percentage points faster than Q1 2017.
The investment in the primary industry was 290.0 billion yuan, up by 24.2% year-on-year; the secondary industry 3,581.3 billion yuan, up by 2.0%, among which the investment in manufacturing was up by 3.8%; the tertiary industry 6,205.0 billion yuan, an increase of 10.0%, among which the investment in infrastructure was up by 13.0%.
The investment in high-tech manufacturing industry increased by 7.9%, 0.4 percentage point faster than the total investment. In March, the investment in fixed assets (excluding by rural households) grew by 0.57% compared with last month.
The Floor Space of Commercial Buildings for Sale Continued to Decrease.
The total investment in real estate development was 2,129.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 10.4%, 0.5 percentage point faster than the first two months and 1.3 percentage points faster than Q1 2018. Among which, the investment in residential buildings went up by 13.3%.
The floor space newly started was 346.15 million square meters, up by 9.7% year-on-year. Among which, the floor space of residential buildings newly started went up by 12.2%.
The floor space of commercial buildings sold was 300.88 million square meters, up by 3.6%. Among which, the floor space of residential buildings sold was up by 2.5%.
The total sales of commercial buildings were 2,559.7 billion yuan, a growth of 10.4%. Among which, the sales of residential buildings were up by 11.4%.
The land space purchased for real estate development was 38.02 million square meters, up by 0.5% year-on-year.
By the end of March, the floor space of commercial buildings for sale was 573.29 million square meters, 11.38 million square meters less than that at the end of February. The funds in place for real estate development enterprises in the first quarter reached 3,677.0 billion yuan, up by 3.1% year-on-year.
Market Sales Maintained Active.
The total retail sales of consumer goods reached 9,027.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year rise of 9.8%, 0.1 percentage point faster than the first two months, and 0.2 percentage point slower than Q1 2017.
Analyzed by different areas, the retail sales in urban areas reached 7,709.6 billion yuan, up by 9.7%, and the retail sales in rural areas stood at 1,317.9 billion yuan, up by 10.7%.
Grouped by consumption patterns, the income of catering was 971.1 billion yuan, up by 10.3%; and the retail sales of goods were 8,056.4 billion yuan, up by 9.8%.
Upgraded consumer goods grew fast. The retail sales of enterprises above the designated size of cosmetics and household appliances and audio-video equipment went up by 16.1% and 11.4% respectively, 6.2 percentage points and 3.4 percentage points faster than Q1 2017.
In March, the total retail sales of consumer goods rose by 10.1% year-on-year, 0.4 percentage point faster than the first two months, an increase of 0.73% month-on-month
In Q1 2018, the online retail sales reached 1,931.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 35.4%, 3.3 percentage points faster than Q1 2017. Among which, the online retail sales of physical goods were 1,456.7 billion yuan, an increase of 34.4%, accounting for 16.1% of the total retail sales, a year-on-year increase of 3.7 percentage points, and the online retail sales of non-physical goods were 475.1 billion yuan, an increase of 38.7%.
The Trade Surplus was Narrowed Substantially.
The total value of imports and exports was 6,751.6 billion yuan, an increase of 9.4% year-on-year. Among which, the total value of exports was 3,538.9 billion yuan, up by 7.4%; the total value of imports was 3,212.7 billion yuan, an increase of 11.7%. The trade balance was 326.2 billion yuan in surplus, 21.8% less than Q1 2017.
The trade structure was further improved. The import and export of general trade increased by 13.2 %, accounting for 58.3% of the total value of the imports and exports, an increase of 2.0 percentage points compared with Q1 2017. The export of mechanical and electronic products still took the lead. The export of mechanical and electronic products increased by 9.5%, accounting for 59.4% of the total value of exports.
The foreign trade with the top three trade partners continued to grow. Specifically, the foreign trade with European Union, United States, and ASEAN went up by 8.2%, 6.3%, and 13.7% respectively. The foreign trade with the countries jointly building the Belt and Road gained momentum. The foreign trade with Russia, Poland and Kazakhstan increased by 20.5%, 16.6%, and 16.2%.
In March, the total value of imports and exports was 2,245.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.5%. The total value of exports was 1,107.8 billion yuan, down by 9.8%, and the total value of imports was 1,137.5 billion yuan, up by 5.9%.
In Q1 2018, the export delivery value of industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 2,714.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%. In March, the export delivery value of industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 1,001.6 billion yuan, up by 4.0%.
The Market Prices Grew Mildly.
The consumer price went up by 2.1% year on year, 0.1 percentage point slower than the first two months, and 0.7 percentage point higher than Q1 2017. Specifically, the price went up by 2.2% in the urban areas and 2.0% in the rural areas.
Grouped by commodity categories, prices for food, tobacco and alcohol went up by 1.9% year-on-year; clothing up by 1.2%; housing up by 2.4%; articles and services for daily use up by 1.6%; transportation and communication up by 0.7%; education, culture and recreation up by 2.2%; medical services and health care up by 6.0%; other articles and services up by 1.4%.
In terms of food, tobacco and alcohol prices, prices for grain went up by 1.1%, pork down by 9.9%, fresh vegetables up by 6.6%. In March, the year-on-year consumer price was up by 2.1%, 0.8 percentage point slower than last month and down by 1.1% month-on-month.
In Q1 2018, the producer prices for industrial products went up by 3.7% year-on-year, 0.3 percentage point lower than the first two months, 3.7 percentage points lower than Q1 2017. In March, the producer prices for industrial products went up by 3.1% year-on-year, 0.6 percentage point slower than last month, and 0.2 percentage point slower month-on-month.
In Q1 2018, the purchasing prices for industrial producers were up by 4.4% year-on-year; In March the prices went up by 3.7% year-on-year, down by 0.3% month-on-month.
The Employment was Generally Stable.
From January to March, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 5.0%, 5.0%, and 5.1% respectively, which was 0.2 percentage point, 0.4 percentage point, and 0.1 percentage point lower than the same month last year.
The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities were 4.9%, 4.8% and 4.9%, which was 0.1 percentage point, 0.2 percentage point, and 0.1 percentage point lower than the same month last year. At the end of the first quarter, the number of outside migrant workers reached 174.41 million, 1.88 million more than the same period last year, an increase of 1.1%.
The Resident Income Grew Steadily.
The nationwide per capita disposable income of residents was 7,815 yuan, a nominal growth of 8.8% year-on-year, or a real increase of 6.6% after deducting price factors.
In terms of permanent residence, the per capita disposable income of urban households was 10,781 yuan, a real growth of 5.7% after deducting price factors. The per capita disposable income of rural households was 4,226 yuan, up by 6.8% after deducting price factors. The per capita income of urban households was 2.55 times of the rural households, 0.02 less than Q1 2017.
The median of the nationwide disposal income was 6,580 yuan, a nominal increase of 8.5%.
The Supply-Side Structural Reform Produced Notable Results.
The industrial capacity utilization rate nationwide was 76.5%, 0.7 percentage point higher than the same period last year.
The efforts of reducing inventory made remarkable achievements. At the end of March, the floor space of commercial buildings for sale decreased by 16.7% year-on-year.
The effects of deleveraging continued to unfold. At the end of February, the asset-liability ratio of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was 56.3%, 0.8 percentage point less year-on-year.
The cost for the real economy continued to decrease. For the first two months, the cost for per-hundred-yuan turnover of principal business of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was 83.98 yuan, 0.33 yuan less year-on-year.
The investment in weak areas grew rapidly. In Q1 2018, the investment in the management of environmental protection and treatment of environment pollution, management of public facilities and agriculture increased by 34.2%, 13.4%, and 25.4% respectively, or 26.7 percentage points, 5.9 percentage points, and 17.9 percentage points higher than the total investment.
The value added of the tertiary industry contributed to 61.6% of the GDP growth, 25.5 percentage points higher than that of the secondary industry. The final consumption expenditure’s contribution to the economic growth reached 77.8%, 46.5 percentage points higher than the total capital formation.
New driving forces grew fast. In the first quarter, the number of newly registered enterprises was1.323 million, up by 5.4% year-on-year, an average of 14.7 thousand each day. The value added of industrial strategic and emerging industries went up by 9.6% year-on-year, 2.8 percentage points faster than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size.
Green development was moving forward steadily. In the first quarter, the energy consumption per unit of GDP dropped by 3.2% year-on-year.