National Economy Recovered Better Than Expectation in the First Two Months of 2022

In the first two months， faced with multiple challenges of complex and severe international environment and sporadic local outbreaks of COVID-19， the national economy sustained steady recovery， the production demand grew fast， employment and prices were generally stable， new driving forces continued to develop， and high-quality development made new progress.

Industrial production accelerated with high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing registered good momentum of growth

In the first two months， the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 7.5% year on year， 3.2 percentage points higher compared with that of December 2021， or 1.4 percentage points higher than the average two-year growth rate of 2021. In terms of three industrial sections， the value added of mining and quarrying increased by 9.8% year on year， manufacturing up by 7.3% and the production and supply of electricity， thermal power， gas and water grew by 6.8%. The value added of high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing grew by 14.4% and 9.6% year on year respectively， 6.9 percentage points and 2.1 percentage points higher than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size. In term of products， the production of new-energy automobiles， industrial robots， and solar cells grew by 150.5%， 29.6% and 26.4% year on year respectively. An analysis by types of ownership showed that the value added of state holding enterprises was up 5.9% year on year； that of share-holding enterprises was up by 8.4%； that of enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan was up by 4.2%； and that of private enterprises was up by 8.7%. In February， the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size went up by 0.34% month on month. In February， the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’Index stood at 50.2%， 0.1 percentage point higher than that of the previous month. The Production and Operation Expectation Index was 58.7%， 1.2 percentage points higher.

Service sector continued to recover and modern service witnessed fast growth

In the first two months， the Index of Services Production was up by 4.2% year on year， 1.2 percentage points higher compared with that of December 2021 or 1.8 percentage points lower than the average two-year growth rate of 2021. Of this total， that of information transmission， software and information technology services grew by 16.3% year on year； that of accommodation and catering services grew by 8.2%. In February， the Business Activity Index for services was 50.5%， 0.2 percentage point higher than that of the previous month. Specifically， the Business Activity Index for railway transportation， air transportation， express mail services and culture， sports and recreation services all increased to the relatively high expansion range of 57.0% and above. From the perspective of market expectation， the Business Activity Expectation Index for services stood at 59.6%， 2.9 percentage points higher than that of the previous month.

Market sales rebounded and sales of upgraded consumer goods was active

In the first two months， the total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 7，442.6 billion， up by 6.7% year on year， 5.0 percentage points higher compared with that of December 2021 or 2.8 percentage points higher than the average two-year growth rate of 2021. Analyzed by different areas， the retail sales in urban areas reached RMB 6，459.3 billion， up by 6.7%； the retail sales in rural areas reached RMB 983.3 billion， up by 7.1%. Grouped by types of consumption， the retail sales of goods was RMB 6，670.8 billion， up by 6.5%； the income of catering was RMB 771.8 billion， up by 8.9%. The sales of upgraded consumer goods went up rapidly. The retail sales of gold， silver and jewelry， household appliances and audio-video equipment and cultural and office supplies by enterprises above the designated size were up by 19.5%， 12.7% and 11.1% respectively. Goods for basic living witnessed good sales. The retail sales of daily necessities and that of grain， oil and food by enterprises above the designated size increased by 10.7% and 7.9% respectively. The online retail sales totaled RMB 1，955.8 billion， up by 10.2% year on year. Specifically， the online retail sales of physical goods were RMB 1，637.1 billion， up by 12.3%， accounting for 22.0% of the total retail sales of consumer goods. In February， the total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 0.30% month on month.

The growth of investment in fixed assets accelerated and investment in high-tech industries grew rapidly

In the first two months， the investment in fixed assets （excluding rural households） reached RMB 5，076.3 billion， up by 12.2% year on year， or 7.3 percentage points higher than that of the year 2021， or 8.3 percentage points higher than that of the average two-year growth rate of 2021. Specifically， the in-vestment in infrastructure grew by 8.1% year on year； the investment in manufacturing grew by 20.9%； the investment in real estate development grew by 3.7%. The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 157.03 million square meters， down by 9.6% year on year； and the total sales of commercial buildings were RMB 1，545.9 billion， down by 19.3%. By industry， the investment in the primary industry went up by 8.8% year on year； the secondary industry up by 19.6%； the tertiary industry up by 9.5%. The private investment went up by 11.4%. The investment in high-tech industry grew by 34.4%， of which the investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 42.7% and 16.0% respectively. In terms of high-tech manufacturing， the investment in manufacturing of electronic and communication equipment and in manufacturing of medical equipment， measuring instruments and meters grew by 50.3% and 41.2% respectively. In terms of high-tech services， the investment in information services and research， development and design services went up by 26.3% and 22.4% respectively. The investment in social sectors grew by 19.1%. Specifically， the investment in health sector and education sector grew by 29.3% and 19.8% respectively. In February， the investment in fixed assets grew by 0.66% month on month.

Imports and exports of goods grew rapidly and trade structure continued to improve

In the first two months， the total value of imports and exports of goods was RMB 6，204.4 billion， up by 13.3% year on year. The value of exports was RMB 3，471.6 billion， up by 13.6%， and the value of imports was RMB 2，732.8 billion， up by 12.9%. The trade balance was RMB 738.8 billion in surplus. The import and export of general trade increased by 16.3%， accounting for 63.5% of the total value of the imports and exports， 1.6 percentage points higher than the same period of the previous year. The imports and exports by private enterprises increased by 16.1%， accounting for 48.2% of the total value， 1.1 percentage points higher than the same period last year. The exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 9.9% year on year， accounting for 58.3% of the total value of exports.

Employment stability was generally maintained and surveyed unemployment rate was basically stable

In the first two months， the newly increased employed people in urban areas totaled 1.63 million. In February， the urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.5%， 0.2 percentage point higher than that of the previous month， the same as that of the same period of the previous year. The surveyed unemployment rate of population with local household registration was 5.5% and that of population with non-local household registration was 5.6%， of which the non-local agricultural household registration was 5.6%. Specifically， the surveyed unemployment rate of the population aged from 16 to 24 was 15.3%， and that of the population aged from 25 to 59 was 4.8%. The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.4%. The employees of enter- prises worked 46.7 hours per week on average.

Consumer price went up mildly and the year-on-year growth of producer prices for industrial products declined

In the first two months， the consumer price （CPI） went up by 0.9% year on year. Grouped by commodity categories， prices for food， tobacco and alcohol went down by 1.8% year on year； clothing up by 0.5%； housing up by 1.4%； articles and services for daily use up by 0.5%； transport and communication up by 5.4%； education， culture and recreation up by 2.7%； medical services and health care up by 0.6%； and other articles and services up by 0.1%. Among the prices for food， tobacco and alcohol， the price for pork went down by 42.0% year on year， grain up by 1.5%， fresh fruits up by 8.2%， and fresh vegetables down by 2.1%. Core CPI excluding the price of food and energy in the first two months went up by 1.2% year on year. In January and February， the consumer price both went up by 0.9% year on year， up by 0.4% and 0.6% month on month respectively.

In the first two months， the producer prices for industrial products went up by 8.9% year on year. The producer prices for industrial products in January and February went up by 9.1% and 8.8% year on year， down by 0.2% and up by 0.5% month on month respectively. In the first two months， the purchasing prices for industrial producers increased by 11.6%.

Generally speaking， in the first two months， the economy enjoyed a good recovery momentum. However， the external environment is still severe and complicated， and the national economic development is faced with mounting risks and challenges. We must commit to the general working guideline of making progress while maintaining stability， fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts， move faster to create a new pattern of development， comprehensively deepen the reform and opening up， strengthen innovation-driven development， promote the high-quality development so as to maintain the economic operation within the appropriate range.