The National Economy Was Generally Stable and Continued to Recover

In October， the national economy continued to maintain the trend of recovery， with employment remaining generally steady， overall consumer prices staying stable， the balance of payments being better than expected， structural adjustments being pushed forwards， peoples livelihoods continuously improving， and the economy being more stable in general.

The service sector continued to recover in general and modern services grew fast

In October， the Index of Services Production increased by 3.8 percent year on year， with an average two-year growth of 5.5 percent， 0.2 percentage points faster than the previous month. Specifically， the Index of Services Production of information transmission， software and information technology services went up by 14.8 percent year on year， while that of leasing and business services was up by 9.3 percent. In the first ten months of the year， the Index of Services Production increased by 15.1 percent year on year， with an average two-year growth of 6.1 percent. The Index of Services Production of information transmission， software and information technology services grew by 19.8 percent year on year. In the first nine months， the business revenue of services enterprises above the designated size grew by 23.6 percent year on year， with the average twoyear growth reaching 10.6 percent. In October， the Business Activity Index for services was 51.6 percent. In terms of sectors， the Business Activity Indices for telecommunications， radio， TV and satellite transmission， and internet software and information technology services stayed above 56.0 percent for two consecutive months. The Business Activity Expectation Index for services stood at 58.5 percent， staying within the high expansion range.

Market sales remained stable and even increased slightly， and consumption of upgraded goods was active

In October， the total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 4，045.4 billion， up by 4.9 percent year on year， 0.5 percentage points faster than the previous month； the average two-year growth was 4.6 percent， 0.8 percentage points faster than the previous month； and the month-on-month growth was 0.43 percent. When analyzed by area， retail sales in urban areas reached RMB 3，509.0 billion， up by 4.8 percent year on year； while retail sales in rural areas reached RMB 536.4 billion， up by 5.6 percent year on year. Grouped by consumption， the retail sales of goods accounted for RMB 3，599.4 billion， up by 5.2 percent year on year； the income from catering was RMB 446.0 billion， up by 2.0 percent year on year. The basic living consumption grew steadily. The retail sales of grain， oil， food and beverages by enterprises above the designated size increased by 9.9 percent and 8.8 percent year on year. The consumption of upgraded goods also remained active. The retail sales of telecommunications equipment， gold， silver and jewelry， and cultural and office appliances by enterprises above the designated size were up by 34.8 percent， 12.6 percent and 11.5 percent year on year. In the first ten months of the year， the total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 35，851.1 billion， up by 14.9 percent year on year， with an average two-year growth of 4.0 percent. In the first ten months， online retail sales totaled RMB 10，376.5 billion， up by 17.4 percent year on year. Specifically， the online retail sales of physical goods were RMB 8，497.9 billion， a year-onyear growth of 14.6 percent， accounting for 23.7 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

Investment in fixed assets grew steadily and high-tech industry investment showed a good momentum of growth

In the first ten months of the year， investment in fixed assets （excluding rural households） reached RMB 44，582.3 billion， up by 6.1 percent year on year， with an average two-year growth of 3.8 percent， equaling that seen in the first nine months. In October， investment in fixed assets grew by 0.15 percent month on month. Specifically， in the first ten months， investment in infrastructure grew by 1.0 percent year on year， investment in manufacturing grew by 14.2 percent， and investment in real estate development grew by 7.2 percent. The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 1.43 billion square meters， up by 7.3 percent year on year， with an average two-year growth of 3.6 percent； and the total sales of commercial buildings were RMB 14，718.5 billion， up by 11.8 percent year on year， with an average two-year growth of 8.8 percent. By industry， investment in primary industry went up by 11.1 percent year on year； secondary industry was up by 11.3 percent； and tertiary industry was up by 3.7 percent. Private investment went up by 8.5 percent year on year， showing an average twoyear growth of 3.8 percent， which was 0.1 percentage points faster than in the first nine months. Investment in hightech industry grew by 17.3 percent year on year， an average two-year growth of 13.5 percent. Specifically， investment in high-tech manufacturing and hightech services grew by 23.5 percent and 6.0 percent year on year respectively. In terms of high-tech manufacturing， investment in the manufacturing of computers and office devices and in the manufacturing of medical equipment and measuring instruments and equipment grew by 29.9 percent and 28.2 percent year on year respec- tively. In terms of high-tech services， investment in e-commerce services and testing services went up by 39.8 percent and 15.4 percent year on year. Investment in social sectors grew by 10.9 percent year on year， with an average two-year growth of 10.7 percent. Specifically， investment in the health sector and the education sector grew by 28.9 percent and 10.1 percent year on year respectively.

Imports and exports of goods grew rapidly and trade structure continued to be optimized

In October， the total value of imports and exports of goods was RMB 3，335.7 billion， up by 17.8 percent year on year. The value of exports was RMB 1，940.8 billion， up by 20.3 percent year on year， and the value of imports was RMB 1，394.9 billion， up by 14.5 percent year on year. The trade balance was RMB 545.9 billion in surplus. In the first ten months of the year， the total value of imports and exports of goods was RMB 31，672.7 billion， up by 22.2 percent year on year. The value of exports was RMB 17，489.2 billion， up by 22.5 percent year on year， and the value of imports was RMB 14，183.5 billion， up by 21.8 percent year on year. In the first ten months， the import and export of general trade accounted for 61.7 percent of the total value of imports and exports， 1.4 percentage points higher than in the same period of the previous year. Imports and exports by private enterprises accounted for 48.3 percent of the total imports and exports， 2.2 percentage points higher than in the same period of the previous year. The exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 22.4 percent year on year， accounting for 58.9 percent of the total exports.

Employment was generally stable and the surveyed urban unemployment rate stayed at the same level

In the first ten months， the newly increased number of employed people in urban areas totaled 11.33 million， marking the accomplishment of the whole-year target ahead of schedule. In October， the urban surveyed unemployment rate was 4.9 percent， which was the same as that of the previous month， or 0.4 percentage points lower than that in the same period of the previous year. The surveyed unemployment rate of the population with local household registration was 4.9 percent and that of the population with non-local household registration was 4.8 percent. Specifically， the surveyed unemployment rate of the population aged from 16 to 24 was 14.2 percent， 0.4 percentage points lower than that of the previous month； and the surveyed unemployment rate of the population aged from 25 to 59 was 4.2 percent， which was the same as that of the previous month. The surveyed urban unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.1 percent， 0.1 percentage points higher than that of the previous month. The employees of enterprises worked 48.6 hours per week on average， 0.8 hours more than in the previous month.

Generally speaking， in October， the national economy was generally stable and maintaining the trend of recovery. The development resilience continued to emerge. However， we must be aware that the international environment is still complicated and severe， with many unstable and uncertain factors at play. Domestically， periodic and structural conflicts which occur in the course of development still exist， and more effort needs to be made to maintain economic stability and recovery. In the next stage， we must take Xi Jinpings Thoughts on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guideline， thoroughly implement the arrangements and decisions made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council， pursue the general working guidelines of making progress while maintaining stability， and implement the new development philosophy in a full， accurate and comprehensive way. We must also deepen reforms， opening-up and innovation， strengthen macro policies for cross-cycle adjustment， and keep the economic performance within a reasonable range， so as to ensure that the annual targets for economic and social development are met.