China’s economic growth of the first three quarters shifted from negative to positive in Q3 2020.
According to the preliminary estimates of National Bureau of Statistics of China, the gross domestic product (GDP) of China was 72,278.6 billion yuan in the first three quarters, a year-on-year growth of 0.7% at comparable prices.
The GDP for the first quarter declined by 6.8% year on year, increased by 3.2% for the second quarter, and up by 4.9% for the third quarter of 2020.
By industry, the value-added of the primary industry was 4,812.3 billion yuan, up by 2.3 percent year on year; that of the secondary industry was 27,426.7 billion yuan, up by 0.9 percent; and that of the tertiary industry was 40,039.7 billion yuan, up by 0.4 percent.
The GDP for the third quarter grew by 2.7% quarter on quarter.
Check out China retail sales in Q3 here.
Agricultural Production
In the first three quarters, the value-added of agriculture (crop farming) grew by 3.8% year on year, the same as that of the first half of the year. Specifically, that of the third quarter grew by 3.9%.
The total output of summer grain and early rice totaled 170.10 million tons, a year-on-year growth of 2.24 million tons. The sown area for autumn grain was stable with an increase, major crops for autumn grain grew well and another bumper harvest is expected for autumn grain.
The planting structure was further optimized, with the sown areas of quality rice and soybean continuing to expand. In the first three quarters, the output of milk grew by 8.1%, and that of eggs grew by 5.1%.
The output of pork, beef, mutton and poultry dropped by 4.7%, a decline narrowed by 6.1 percentage points compared with that of the first half of this year.
Specifically, the output of poultry grew by 6.5%, and output of beef, mutton and pork dropped by 1.7%, 1.8% and 10.8% respectively, a decline narrowed by 1.7 percentage points, 0.7 percentage points and 8.3 percentage points compared with that of the first half of this year.
The pork production capacity gradually recovered. By the end of the third quarter, 370.39 million pigs were registered in stock, up by 20.7% year on year, among which, 38.22 million were breeding sows, up by 28.0%.
Check out China’s CPI from January to September 2020.
Industrial Production
In the first three quarters, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 1.2% year on year, while that of the first half of this year was down by 1.3%. Specifically, that of the third quarter grew by 5.8% year on year, 1.4 percentage points faster than that of the second quarter.
In September, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 6.9% year on year, growing for the sixth consecutive month, or 1.3 percentage points faster than the growth of August, with the month-on-month growth registering 1.18%.
An analysis by types of ownership showed that, in the first three quarters, the value-added of the state holding enterprises grew by 0.9% year on year; that of share-holding enterprises up by 1.5 percent; that of enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan up by 0.3 percent; and that of private enterprises up by 2.1%.
In terms of sector, the value-added of mining went down by 0.6% year on year, a decline narrowed by 0.5 percentage points compared with that of the first half of this year; manufacturing up by 1.7% and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water up by 0.8%, compared with a decline of 1.4% and 0.9% respectively in the first half of this year.
In the first three quarters, the value-added of high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing grew by 5.9% and 4.7% year on year.
In terms of the output of products, in the first three quarters, the production of trucks, excavators, and shoveling machinery, industrial robots, and integrated circuits grew by 23.4%, 20.2%, 18.2% and 14.7% year on year respectively.
In the first eight months, the total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size totaled 3,716.7 billion yuan, down by 4.4% year on year, a decline narrowed by 3.7 percentage points compared with that of the first seven months.
The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 51.5% in September, 0.5 percentage points higher than that of August, staying above the threshold for seven consecutive months.
Service Sector
In the third quarter, the total value added of the tertiary industry grew by 4.3%, or 2.4 percentage points faster than that of the second quarter.
In the first three quarters, of modern service industries, the value-added of the information transmission, software and information technology services, and financial services grew by 15.9% and 7.0% respectively, or 1.4 percentage points and 0.4 percentage points higher than that of the first half of this year.
The Index of Services Production dropped by 2.6% year on year, a decline narrowed by 3.5 percentage points compared with that of the first half of the year; specifically, that of September grew by 5.4%, 1.4 percentage points faster than that of August.
In September, the Business Activity Index for services was 55.2%, 0.9 percentage points higher than that of August. Specifically, the Business Activity Index for transportation, telecommunication, internet and software, and accommodation and catering all stayed above 60%. In terms of market expectation, the Business Activities Expectation Index for service was 62.2%, 0.9 percentage points higher than that August.
Investment in Fixed Assets Shifted from Negative to Positive
In the first three quarters, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 43,653.0 billion yuan, up by 0.8% year on year, shifting from negative to positive for the first time in 2020, while that of the first half of this year was down by 3.1%.
- the investment in infrastructure grew by 0.2%, shifting from negative to positive for the first time in 2020, while that of the first half of 2020 was down by 2.7 percent;
- the investment in manufacturing dropped by 6.5%, a decline narrowed by 5.2 percentage points compared with that of the first half of 2020;
- the investment in real estate development grew by 5.6%, 3.7 percentage points faster than that of the first half of 2020.
The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 1,170.73 million square meters, down by 1.8%, a decline narrowed by 6.6 percentage points compared with that of the first half of 2020; and the total sales of commercial buildings were 11,564.7 billion yuan, up by 3.7%, while that of the first half of 2020 were down by 5.4%.
The investment in China’s primary industry grew by 14.5%, a growth of 10.7 percentage points higher than that of the first half of the year; the secondary industry down by 3.4%, a decline narrowed by 4.9 percentage points compared with that of the first half of the year; the tertiary industry up by 2.3%, while that of the first half was down by 1.0%.
The private investment reached 24,399.8 billion yuan, down by 1.5%, a decline narrowed by 5.8 percentage points compared with that of the first half of 2020.
The investment in the high-tech industry grew by 9.1%, 2.8 percentage points faster than that of the first half of 2020. Of the total, the investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 9.3% and 8.7% respectively.
In terms of high-tech manufacturing, the investment in pharmaceutical manufacturing, manufacturing of computers and office devices grew by 21.2% and 9.3% respectively.
In terms of high-tech services, the investment in e-commerce services, information services and services for commercialization of research findings grew by 20.4%, 16.9% and 16.8%.
The investment in social sectors grew by 9.2%, 3.9 percentage points higher than that of the first half of 2020. Of the total, the investment in health sector and education sector grew by 20.3% and 12.7% respectively, or 5.1 percentage points and 1.9 percentage points faster than that of the first half of 2020.
In September, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) grew by 3.37% month on month.
Imports and Exports
In the first three quarters, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 23,115.1 billion yuan, up by 0.7% year on year, shifting from negative to positive for the first time in 2020; specifically, that of the third quarter grew by 7.5% year on year, while the that of the second quarter was down by 0.2%.
The value of exports was 12,710.3 billion yuan, up by 1.8%, and the value of imports was 10,404.8 billion yuan, down by 0.6%. The trade balance was 2,305.4 billion yuan in surplus.
In September, the total value of imports and exports was 3,066.3 billion yuan, up by 10.0% year on year. The value of exports was 1,662.0 billion yuan, up by 8.7 percent; the value of imports was 1,404.3 billion yuan, up by 11.6%.
The trade structure continued to optimize. In the first three quarters, the import and export of general trade accounted for 60.2% of the total value of the imports and exports, 0.8 percentage points higher than the same period of last year.
The exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 3.2%, while that of the first half of 2020 was down by 2.3%. The imports and exports by private enterprises grew by 10.2%, accounting for 46.1% of the total imports and exports, 4 percentage points higher than the same period of last year.
Employment
In the first three quarters, the newly increased employed people in urban areas totaled 8.89 million, accomplishing 99.8% of the whole-year target.
In September, the urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.4%, 0.2 percentage points lower than that of August. Specifically, the surveyed unemployment rate of population aged from 25 to 59 was 4.8%, 0.6 percentage points lower than the urban surveyed unemployment rate, the same as that of August.
The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.5%, 0.2 percentage points lower than that of August.
The employees of enterprises worked averagely 46.8 hours per week. By the end of the third quarter, the number of rural migrant workers reached 179.52 million, 3.84 million less than that of the same period last year, down by 2.1% year on year.
Residents Income
In the first three quarters, the nationwide per capita disposable income of residents was 23,781 yuan, a nominal increase of 3.9% year on year, or a real increase of 0.6% after deducting price factors, shifting from negative to positive for the first time in 2020 as that of the first half of 2020 was down by 1.3%.
In terms of permanent residence, the per capita disposable income of urban households was 32,821 yuan, a nominal increase of 2.8%, or a real decrease of 0.3%.
The per capita disposable income of rural households was 12,297 yuan, a nominal increase of 5.8%, or a real increase of 1.6%.
The per capita disposable income of urban households was 2.67 times that of rural households, 0.08 less than that of the same period last year. The median of the nationwide per capita disposable income was 20,512 yuan, a nominal increase of 3.2% year on year.
China saw its first positive quarterly growth in consumer retail sales in Q3 2020