The gross domestic product (GDP) was 101,598.6 billion yuan in 2020, an increase of 2.3% over the previous year at comparable prices, according to preliminary estimates of the National Bureau of Statistics of China.
China’s year-on-year GDP for the first quarter went down by 6.8%, up by 3.2% for the second quarter, 4.9% for the third quarter, and 6.5% for the fourth quarter.
By industries, the value-added of the primary industry was 7,775.4 billion yuan, up by 3.0%, that of the secondary industry was 38,425.5 billion yuan, up by 2.6%, and that of the tertiary industry was 55,397.7 billion yuan, up by 2.1%.
Agriculture
The total output of grain in 2020 was 669.49 million tons, up by 0.9% over 2019, or an increase of 5.65 million tons.
Of this total, the output of summer grain was 142.86 million tons, up by 0.9%, and that of early rice was 27.29 million tons, up by 3.9%. The output of autumn grain reached 499.34 million tons, up by 0.7%.
The output of rice was 211.86 million tons, up by 1.1 percent; wheat, 134.25 million tons, up by 0.5 percent; corn, 260.67 million tons, almost the same as that of 2019 with a slight decline; soybean, 19.60 million tons, up by 8.3%.
The total output of pork, beef, mutton, and poultry in 2020 was 76.39 million tons, down by 0.1% over 2019. Of this total, the output of beef was 6.72 million tons, up by 0.8 percent; mutton, 4.92 million tons, up by 1.0%; poultry, 23.61 million tons, up by 5.5%; eggs, 34.68 million tons, up by 4.8 percent; milk, 34.40 million tons, up by 7.5%, and pork, 41.13 million tons, down by 3.3%.
At the end of 2020, pigs and breeding sows registered in stock were up by 31.0% and 35.1% respectively over that at the end of 2019.
Industrial Production
The total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size increased by 2.8% over 2019.
In terms of ownership, the value-added of the state holding enterprises grew by 2.2%, that of the share-holding enterprises up by 3.0%, that of the enterprises funded by foreign investors and investors from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan up by 2.4% and that of private enterprises up by 3.7%.
In terms of sectors, the value-added of mining was up by 0.5%, that of manufacturing up by 3.4% and that of production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water up by 2.0%.
The value-added of the high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing went up by 7.1% and 6.6% respectively over 2019, or 4.3 percentage points and 3.8 percentage points higher than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size.
Specifically, the production of industrial robots, new energy vehicles, integrated circuits and microcomputer equipment grew by 19.1%, 17.3%, 16.2% and 12.7% year on year respectively.
In the fourth quarter, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 7.1% year on year, 1.3 percentage points higher than that in the third quarter.
In 2020, the national industrial capacity utilization rate reached 74.5%. In the fourth quarter, the national industrial capacity utilization rate reached 78.0%, 1.3 percentage points higher than that in the third quarter.
In the first eleven months, the profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size were 5,744.5 billion yuan, up by 2.4% year on year, 1.7 percentage points higher than that in the first ten months.
Service Sector
In 2020, the Index of Services Production was the same as that of 2019.
The value-added of the information transmission, software and information technology services and that of financial services grew by 16.9% and 7.0% year on year respectively, 14.8 percentage points and 4.9 percentage points higher than that of the tertiary industry.
The Index of Services Production grew by 7.7% year on year in the fourth quarter, 3.4 percentage points higher than that in the third quarter.
In December, the Index of Services Production grew by 7.7% year on year.
In the first eleven months, business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size grew by 1.6% year on year, of which that of information transmission, software and information technology services and that of scientific research and technology services grew by 13.5% and 9.9% respectively, 11.9 percentage points and 8.3 percentage points higher than that of service enterprises above the designated size.
In December, the Business Activity Index for services was 54.8%, staying above the expansion range.
Specifically, the Business Activity Index for sectors like air transportation, telecommunication, broadcast, television and satellite transmission services, monetary and financial services and capital market services continued to stay within the high expansion range at 60.0% and above.
From the perspective of market expectation, the Business Activity Expectation Index for services was 60.1%, staying within the high expansion range for six months in a row.
China’s total online retail sales grew 10.9% in 2020 »
Investment
In 2020, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 51,890.7 billion yuan, up by 2.9% over that of the previous year.
Specifically, the investment in infrastructure was up by 0.9%, manufacturing down by 2.2% and real estate development up by 7.0%.
The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 1,760.86 million square meters, up by 2.6%. The total sales of commercial buildings were 17,361.3 billion yuan, up by 8.7%. The growth of investment in the three industries shifted to positive.
Specifically, the investment in the primary industry went up by 19.5 percent; that in the secondary industry up by 0.1 percent; and that in the tertiary industry up by 3.6%.
The private investment was 28,926.4 billion yuan, up by 1.0%. The investment in high-tech industries grew by 10.6%, 7.7 percentage points higher than the total investment, of which the investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 11.5% and 9.1% respectively.
In terms of high-tech manufacturing, the investment in pharmaceutical manufacturing and in computers and office devices grew by 28.4% and 22.4% respectively.
In terms of high-tech services, investment in e-commerce services and information services grew by 20.2% and 15.2% respectively.
The investment in the social sector went up by 11.9%, 9.0 percentage points higher than the total investment. Specifically, the investment in the health industry and in the education industry went up by 29.9% and 12.3% respectively.
Foreign Trade
In 2020, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 32,155.7 billion yuan, an increase of 1.9% over the previous year.
The total value of exports was 17,932.6 billion yuan, up by 4.0 percent; the total value of imports was 14,223.1 billion yuan, down by 0.7%. The trade balance was 3,709.6 billion yuan in surplus.
The exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 6%, accounting for 59.4% of the total value of exports, 1.1 percentage points higher than that of 2019.
The imports and exports of general trade accounted for 59.9% of the total value of the imports and exports, an increase of 0.9 percentage point compared with 2019.
The imports and exports by private enterprises grew by 11.1%, accounting for 46.6% of the total value of the imports and exports, 3.9 percentage points higher than that of 2019.
In December, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 3,200.5 billion yuan, up by 5.9% year on year. Specifically, the total value of exports was 1,858.7 billion yuan, up by 10.9 percent; the total value of imports was 1,341.9 billion yuan, down by 0.2%. The trade balance was 516.8 billion yuan in surplus.
China Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Dec 2020; up 2.5% in 2020
Employment
In 2020, the newly increased employed people in urban areas totaled 11.86 million, which exceeded the expected goal of 9 million and achieved 131.8% of the whole year target.
In December, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 5.2%, the same as that of 2019. Specifically, the surveyed unemployment rate of major labor force aged from 25 to 59 was 4.7%, the same as the previous year.
In 2020, the average annual surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas stood at 5.6%, lower than the expected target of around 6%.
At the end of 2020, the registered unemployment rate in urban areas was 4.24%, lower than the expected target of around 5.5%. The number of rural migrant workers reached 285.60 million, 5.17 million less than that of 2019 or down by 1.8%.
Specifically, local migrant workers totaled 116.01 million, down by 0.4 percent; outside migrant workers totaled 169.59 million, down by 2.7%. The average monthly income of migrant workers was 4,072 yuan, up by 2.8% over 2019.
Resident Income
In 2020, the nationwide per capita disposable income of residents was 32,189 yuan, a nominal increase of 4.7% over that of 2019, and a real increase of 2.1% after deducting price factors, which was generally at the same pace as the growth of the economy.
In terms of permanent residence, the per capita disposable income of urban households was 43,834 yuan, a nominal growth of 3.5% and a real growth of 1.2% after deducting the price factors.
The per capita disposable income of rural households was 17,131 yuan, a nominal growth of 6.9% and a real growth of 3.8% after deducting price factors.
The per capita disposable income of urban households was 2.56 times that of the rural households, 0.08 less than the ratio of 2019.
The median of the nationwide per capita disposable income was 27,540 yuan, a nominal increase of 3.8% over that of 2019.
Taking the per capita disposable income of nationwide households by income quintile, that of the low-income group reached 7,869 yuan, the lower-middle-income group 16,443 yuan, the middle-income group 26,249 yuan, the upper-middle-income group 41,172 yuan, and the high-income group 80,294 yuan.
In 2020, the nationwide per capita consumption expenditure was 21,210 yuan, a nominal decline of 1.6%, or a real decline of 4.0% after deducting price factors. Specifically, the per capita consumption expenditure of urban households was 27,007 yuan, a nominal decline of 3.8 percent; the per capita consumption expenditure of rural households was 13,713 yuan, a nominal growth of 2.9%.