Hu Kaihong:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference. Today, we are delighted to invite Mr. Mao Shengyong to introduce China's economic performance in the first half of 2018. Mr. Mao is the spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). He will also answer some of your questions.

Now, let's welcome Mr. Mao to give his briefing.

Mao Shengyong:

Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the press, good morning. As usual, I will make a brief introduction before the Q&A session.

In the first half of this year, China's economic performance was generally sound and stable with good momentum. Despite complex and grim internal and external environments, all regions and departments worked hard to overcome obstacles and meet the requirements of high-quality development. This half-year has seen further structural adjustments, more new growth drivers to replace old ones, and steady improvement in the quality and effect.

According to preliminary statistics, China's GDP in the first half of this year was 41.9 trillion yuan, up 6.8 percent on the same period last year in comparable prices. Quarterly, the increase of GDP year-on-year in Q1 and Q2 was 6.8 percent and 6.7 percent respectively, maintaining a growth rate between 6.7 percent and 6.9 percent for 12 consecutive quarters. In the industrial sector, the added value of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries reached 2.21 trillion yuan, 16.93 trillion yuan and 22.76 trillion yuan respectively, up by 3.2 percent, 6.1 percent and 7.6 percent year-on-year.

1. The agricultural sector posted a sound performance following an improved planting structure. 

After the grain planting structure was adjusted, bumper crop yields are expected this summer. The structural reform of agricultural supply has been intensified, with an increase in the planting area of cotton and soybeans. 

Livestock farming remained stable; in the first half of 2018, the combined total of pork, beef, mutton and poultry was 39.95 million metric tons, a yearly growth of 0.9 percent. Specifically, the amount of pork was 26.14 million metric tons, growing 1.4 percent. The total number of hogs raised was 409.04 million, down 1.8 percent, while that of slaughtered hogs was 334.22 million, up by 1.2 percent, both year-on-year.

2. Overall industrial growth was stable and the structure continues to optimize

In the first half of this year, the real growth of the total value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size was 6.7 percent, and the growth rate was 0.1 percentage points lower than that of the first quarter. An analysis by types of ownership showed that the value added of state holding enterprises was up by 7.6 percent; that of the collective enterprises, down by 1.9 percent; share-holding enterprises, up by 6.7 percent; and enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, up by 6.2 percent. 

In terms of sectors, the value added of the mining industry increased by 1.6 percent, manufacturing increased by 6.9 percent, and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water increased by 10.5 percent. The value added of the high-tech industry and equipment manufacturing increased by 11.6 percent and 9.2 percent year-on-year, 4.9 percentage points and 2.5 percentage points faster than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size. 

In June, the value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was up by 6.0 percent year-on-year. From January to May, the profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size stood at 2.7298 trillion yuan, up 16.5 percent year-on-year. The profit rate of the principal activities of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was 6.36 percent, up by 0.35 percentage point compared with the same period last year.

3. The service industry is growing rapidly and the emerging service sector is booming.

In the first half of the year, the national service industry production index increased by 8 percent year-on-year, and the growth rate dropped by 0.1 percentage points from the first quarter, maintaining relatively fast growth. Namely, information transmission, software and information technology services, and leasing and business services maintained particularly rapid growth. In June, the national service industry production index increased by 8 percent year-on-year. From January to May, the operating income of service enterprises above the designated size increased by 13.3 percent year-on-year, or 0.2 percentage points higher than the same period of the previous year. Of those, the emerging strategic service industry, technology service industry and high-tech service industry's operating incomes increased by 18.1 percent, 17.5 percent and 15.4 percent respectively, an increase of 2.4, 5.0 and 4.5 percentage points compared to the same period of the previous year.

4. The national residents' consumption spending and market sales maintained a steady-momentum growth, and the sales of goods for consumption upgrading enjoyed rapid growth.

In the first half of this year, the national residents' per capita consumption spending was 9,609 yuan, which means a nominal growth of up to 8.8 percent year-on-year, 1.2 percentage points faster than the first quarter, and an actual growth of 6.7 percent year-on-year and 1.3 percentage points faster than in the first quarter after adjusting for inflation. Urban residents' per capita consumption spending was nominally up 6.8 percent, 1.1 percentage points higher than last year. The rural residents' per capita consumption spending was nominally up 12.2 percent, 1.2 percentage points higher than last year. In the first half of the year, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 18.0018 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.4 percent year-on-year, and the growth rate fell by 0.4 percentage point compared with the growth from the first quarter. Analyzed by locations for business units, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 15.4091 trillion yuan, up by 9.2 percent; the retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas reached 2.5927 trillion yuan, up by 10.5 percent. Grouped by consumption patterns, the revenues from the catering sector were 1.9457 trillion yuan, up by 9.9 percent, while commodity retail revenues were 16.0561 trillion yuan, up by 9.3 percent. The sales of goods for consumption upgrading grew faster, with household appliances and audio-visual equipment, communication equipment, and cosmetics above the limitation unit witnessing a year-on-year growth of 10.6 percent, 10.6 percent and 14.2 percent respectively, 0.2 percentage point, 0.5 percentage point, and 2.9 percentage points faster than the same period of last year, respectively. In June, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased 9.0 percent on a year-on-year basis, 0.5 percentage point faster than last month.

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