A look at China's Q1-3 economic data

China's economy has expanded within a reasonable range and maintained a trend of overall stability and steady progress.

China's GDP growth reached 6.7 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of this year, laying a solid foundation for achieving the government's annual growth target of around 6.5 percent, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Growth in the third quarter was 6.5 percent, down from 6.8 percent in the first quarter and 6.7 percent in the second quarter, the data showed.

The country's economic structure is improving, with the services industry contributing to 60.8 percent of GDP growth in the first three quarters, 1.8 percentage points higher than the first half, while consumption accounts for 78 percent of the country's GDP growth in the same period, the NBS said.

"We don't need to worry too much about the slower GDP growth," said Hu Yuexiao, chief analyst at Shanghai Securities. "Investment has stabilized and started to rebound, and the weakening of growth may have possibly stopped."

Mao Shengyong, spokesman for the NBS, said the country's economic growth remained on track but faces heavier downward pressure.

1CPI hits highest level in seven months

The nation's consumer price index, a gauge of the prices of goods and services, rose by 2.5 percent year-on-year in September, the highest level in seven months, according to the NBS.

In the first three quarters of this year, CPI increased 2.1 percent year-on-year, up 0.1 percentage points from the first half of this year.

The CPI jump was mainly caused by food price rises due to seasonal factors and natural disasters such as extreme weather, the NBS said.

2PPI up 3.6%

China's producer price index, which gauges factory-gate prices, eased to 3.6 percent in September, down from 4.1 percent in the previous month, according to the NBS.

The easing was mainly caused by the relatively high base last September, the NBS said.

In the first three quarters of this year, PPI rose 4 percent from the same period the previous year.

3Manufacturing activity expands slower

China's manufacturing purchasing managers index came in at 50.8 in September, narrowing from 51.3 in August, according to the NBS.

This is the 26th consecutive month the official manufacturing PMI stayed above 50. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.

China's non-manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace, with the PMI for the sector standing at 54.9 in September, up from 54.2 in August.

4Value-added industrial output up 5.8%

China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, increased 5.8 percent year-on-year in September, down 0.3 percentage points from August, the NBS said.

In the first three quarters this year, industrial output expanded 6.4 percent year-on-year, 0.3 percentage points lower than the first half of this year.

5FAI up 5.4% in first three quarters

China's fixed-asset investment growth was 5.4 percent in the first three quarters of this year, 0.6 percentage points lower than the first two quarters as a whole, but 0.1 percentage points higher than in the first eight months, according to the NBS.

Private investment, which accounts for more than 60 percent of total FAI, rose at a faster pace than overall growth, up 8.7 percent year-on-year.

6Property investment expands slower

China's real estate investment increased 9.9 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters this year, slightly down from the 10.1 percent expansion recorded in the January-August period, the NBS said.

Investment in the real estate sector amounted to 8.87 trillion yuan ($1.28 trillion), with 70.8 percent of the total pumped into residential projects.

7Retail sales up 9.3% in first three quarters

China's retail sales of consumer goods grew 9.2 percent year-on-year to 3.2 trillion yuan in September, up from 9 percent in August, the NBS said.

In the first three quarters this year, retail sales increased 9.3 percent year-on-year, down from 9.4 percent in the first two quarters combined.

Online spending remained robust, with sales surging 27 percent to reach 6.3 trillion yuan in the first nine months.

8Trade volume stays stable

China's foreign trade volume jumped 9.9 percent year-on-year to 22.28 trillion yuan in the first three quarters, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Exports jumped 6.5 percent year-on-year during the same period to 11.86 trillion yuan, while imports grew by 14.1 percent to 10.42 trillion yuan, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.44 trillion yuan— narrower by 28.3 percent year-on-year.

In September, foreign trade volume grew 17.2 percent year-on-year to 2.89 trillion yuan.

9New yuan loans expand

China's new yuan-denominated loans stood at 1.38 trillion yuan in September, up from 1.28 trillion yuan in August, central bank data showed.

New yuan loans in the first nine months of the year totaled 13.14 trillion yuan, compared with 13.53 trillion yuan for the whole of 2017.

The M2 rose 8.3 percent year-on-year to 180.17 trillion yuan at the end of September, and the M1 rose 4 percent year-on-year to 53.86 trillion yuan.

10FDI up 8%

Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland rose 8 percent year-on-year to 76.27 billion yuan in September, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

In the first nine months, total FDI inflow edged up 2.9 percent to 636.7 billion yuan. New overseas companies set up in the period surged 95.1 percent to 45,922, the ministry said.

Investment from countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative rose 14.9 percent from a year earlier.

11Fiscal revenue growth slows

China's fiscal revenue growth slowed for two consecutive months amid the Chinese government's efforts to cut taxes and fees, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The country's fiscal revenue rose 2 percent year-on-year to 1.3 trillion yuan in September, slowing from a 4-percent gain in August.

In the first nine months of the year, fiscal revenue rose 8.7 percent year-on-year to 14.6 trillion yuan.

12Jobs market performs stably

China's jobs market performed stably in September, with declining unemployment rates and rising job creation according to the NBS.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate nationwide was 4.9 percent in September, down from 5 percent a year before.

The number of newly-created jobs in urban areas exceeded 11 million in the first three quarters, meeting the government's annual target three months ahead of schedule.

13Power generation continues to pick up

China's power generation continues to pick up in September, with overall electricity output rising by 8 percent year-on-year to about 574.2 billion kilowatt-hour, according to the National Energy Administration.

The growth outpaced the 7.3-percent expansion recorded in August.

In the first three quarters, power generation grew by 8.9 percent to 5.1 trillion kWh.

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