Behind the 6.3% GDP growth: industrial capacity utilization picked up for the first time in 15 months

MAO shengyong, spokesman and director of the national economy statistics department of the national bureau of statistics, released economic data for the first half of the year at a press conference held by the state council information office on July 15, 2018.According to preliminary accounting, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the first half of this year reached 4.50933 trillion yuan, up 6.3% year-on-year in terms of comparable prices.

 

“6.3 percent is a relatively steady speed, not a low speed, a high gold content speed, a hard-won speed, is a speed with strong staying power.The target for the whole year is between 6.0% and 6.5%, and 6.3% in the first half of the year has laid a good foundation for achieving the target.”MAO shengyong said.

 

Lian ping, chief analyst at the bank of communications’ financial research center, said the slowdown in economic growth indicated weaker demand and slower production in the second quarter.However, the economic growth rate is still within the proper range, and some positive signs have emerged.

 

“Counter-cyclical adjustment of macro policies and tax cuts and fee cuts have and will gradually release their effects, which will help stabilize the economy, and there is no risk of a hard landing.As the economy enters a stage of structural transformation and upgrading, a moderate slowdown in economic growth in recent years is a normal phenomenon.Liu xuezhi, a senior analyst at the financial research center of bank of communications, told China times.

 

In the second half of the year, the external environment remains complex. However, MAO shengyong said that the fundamentals of stable economic performance will not change, and there is plenty of room for policy reserves.

 

The overall smooth

 

“In the first half of this year, despite the complicated situation at home and abroad, China’s economic growth has maintained an overall steady momentum of steady progress.Major macroeconomic indicators are operating within a reasonable range, and the economic structure is being optimized and adjusted.”"MAO shengyong said.

 

On a quarterly basis, year-on-year growth was 6.4% in the first quarter and 6.2% in the second quarter.

 

In the troika, consumption growth has accelerated.The total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 8.4% in the first half of the year, slightly accelerating from the first quarter.The growth rate of investment was stable, with fixed asset investment rising by 5.8% in the first half of the year, 0.2 percentage points higher than in the first five months of the year.Imports and exports were better than expected, with total imports and exports of goods growing by 3.9% in the first half of the year, slightly accelerating from the first quarter and picking up further in June than in May.

 

In addition, the industrial structure is being optimized. In the first half of this year, the added value of high-tech manufacturing increased by 9%, 3 percentage points faster than that of all industries above the designated size.In terms of investment, investment in the social sector, investment in high-tech industries and investment in technological transformation of the manufacturing industry has been kept at a good level of more than 10%.

 

Most importantly, in the course of economic growth, the three major indicators of people’s well-being have performed well.In the first half of this year, 7.37 million new urban jobs were created, 67 percent of the annual target. In June, the surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.1 percent, stable at around 5 percent.Prices were basically stable. In the first half of this year, the CPI rose by 2.2 percent year on year, continuing a moderate upward trend.In the first half of this year, per capita disposable income increased by 6.5 percent in real terms, 0.2 percentage points faster than the economic growth rate.In particular, the per capita disposable income of rural residents is growing faster than that of urban residents, and the income gap between urban and rural areas is further narrowing.

 

“Since last year, world economic growth, including the expansion of world trade, has slowed down. Some structural problems that have been building up in China for a long time have become prominent, and the economy is under downward pressure.Under such circumstances, we have not resorted to massive stimulus measures. Instead, we have made great efforts to promote reform and innovation, deepen supply-side structural reform, improve the business environment, cut taxes and fees on a large scale, invigorate market players, and promote steady economic growth. This has not come easily.”"MAO shengyong said.


Post time: Jul-22-2019
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