SCIO briefing on China's economic growth in the first three quarters of 2020
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E-mail China.org.cn, October 20, 2020
Shou Xiaoli:
Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this SCIO press conference where we are releasing China's latest economic data. We are pleased to welcome Ms. Liu Aihua, spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and director general of its Department of Comprehensive Statistics, to introduce details of the economic performance in the first three quarters of 2020 and answer your questions. First, let's give the floor to Ms. Liu.
Liu Aihua:
Thank you. Good morning, everyone. I'll first give you a brief introduction of economic performance in the first three quarters of 2020, and then answer your questions. The economic growth in the period shifted from negative to positive.
Faced with the great impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the complicated and severe environment both at home and abroad, under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, all regions and departments coordinated their efforts to advance both the epidemic prevention and control and the economic and social development in a scientific way, and effectively promoted restoration of production and life order. Economic growth shifted from negative to positive, the relations between supply and demand gradually improved, the vitality and dynamics of the market were enhanced, and the employment and people's livelihood were well guaranteed. The national economy continued its steady recovery and overall social stability was maintained.
According to preliminary estimates, the gross domestic product (GDP) was 72.28 trillion yuan in the first three quarters, a year-on-year growth of 0.7% at comparable prices. Specifically, the GDP for the first quarter declined by 6.8% year-on-year, increased by 3.2% in the second quarter, and up by 4.9% in the third quarter. By industry, the added value of the primary industry was 4.81 trillion yuan, up 2.3% year-on-year; secondary industry 27.43 trillion yuan, up by 0.9%; tertiary industry 40.04 trillion yuan, up by 0.4%. GDP for the third quarter grew by 2.7% quarter-on-quarter.
In detail, first, agricultural production maintained good momentum with another bumper harvest expected for autumn grain.
In the first three quarters, the added value of agriculture (crop farming) grew by 3.8% year-on-year, matching 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 saw a stable 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 5.1%. The output of pork, beef, mutton and poultry dropped by 4.7%, a decline narrowing 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 narrowing by 1.7 percentage points, 0.7 percentage points and 8.3 percentage points compared with that of the first half of this year. Pig 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%.
Second, industrial production continued to accelerate with high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing growing fast.
In the first three quarters, the total added value of industrial enterprises above designated size grew by 1.2% year-on-year, while that of the first half of this year was down by 1.3%. Specifically, the third quarter saw growth of 5.8% year-on-year, 1.4 percentage points faster than the second quarter. In September, the total added value of industrial enterprises above designated size rose by 6.9% year-on-year, growing for the sixth consecutive month, or 1.3 percentage points faster than the growth of August, with month-on-month growth of 1.18%. An analysis by ownership type showed that, in the first three quarters, the added value of State holding enterprises grew by 0.9% year-on-year; that of share-holding enterprises was up 1.5%; that of enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan up 0.3%; and that of private enterprises up 2.1%. In terms of sectors, the added value of mining went down by 0.6% year-on-year, a decline narrowing by 0.5 percentage points compared with the first half of this year; manufacturing was up 1.7% and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water rose 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 added value 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, production of trucks, excavators and shoveling machinery, industrial robots and integrated circuits respectively grew 23.4%, 20.2%, 18.2% and 14.7% year-on-year. In the first eight months, the total profits made by industrial enterprises above designated size totaled 3.72 trillion yuan, down by 4.4% year-on-year, a decline narrowing 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 August, staying above the threshold for seven consecutive months.
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