The General Trend of High-Quality Development Remained Unchanged

Since the start of this year， as the impact of the increasingly grim and complex international environment and greater shock of the COVID-19 pandemic at home exceeded expectation， new downward pressure on the economy continued to grow. The support from basic industries was strong， the investment continued to scale up， the market prices were generally stable， peoples well-being was robustly and effectively guaranteed， the new driving forces continued to grow， and the overall economic and social development was stable. As the effective coordination of both the epidemic prevention and control and the economic and social development delivered effects， the national economy is expected to stabilize and recover.

1. Industrial production slowed down and the hightech manufacturing industry maintained fast growth

In the first four months， the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 4.0% year on year， 2.5% lower than that of the first quarter. In terms of sectors， the value added of mining and quarrying went up by 10.4% year on year， manufacturing up by 3.2% and the production and supply of electricity， thermal power， gas and water grew by 5.0%. The value added of hightech manufacturing grew by 11.5% year on year. An analysis by types of ownership showed that the value added of state holding enterprises was up by 3.1% year on year； that of shareholding enterprises was up by 5.8%； that of enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan was down by 2.8%； and that of private enterprises was up by 5.1%. In term of products， the production of basic industrial products of coal and ten kinds of nonferrous metals grew by 10.5% and 0.7% year on year respectively， and the production of green， smart and digital products like new-energy vehicles， solar cells and mobile communication base stations grew by 112.7%， 27.5% and 25.9% respectively. In April， the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size went down by 2.9% year on year， or down by 7.08% month on month. Specifically， the value added of mining and quarrying increased by 9.5% year on year， manufacturing down by 4.6% and the production and supply of electricity， thermal power， gas and water grew by 1.5%. The value added of high-tech manufacturing grew by 4.0% year on year. In April， the Manufacturing Purchasing ManagersIndex stood at 47.4% and the Production and Operation Expectation Index was 53.3%. In the first three months， the total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size stood at RMB 1，955.6 billion， up by 8.5% year on year.

2. Service sector production reduced and modern service industries registered a good momentum of growth

In the first four months， the Index of Services Production was up by 0.3% year on year， down by 2.2% compared to that of the first quarter. Of this total， that of information transmission， software and information technology services and that of financial intermediation grew by 13.9% and 4.8% respectively. In April， the Index of Services Production was down by 6.1% year on year. Of this total， that of information transmission， software and information technology services and that of financial intermediation grew by 10.3% and 5.5% respectively. In the first three months， business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size went up by 9% year on year. In April， the Business Activity Index for services was 40%， and the Business Activity Expectation Index for services stood at 53%. Specifically， the Business Activity Index for telecommunication， broadcast， television and satellite transmission services， software and information technology services continued to stay within the expansion range.

3. Market sales dropped， and sales of goods for basic living and online retail sales continued to grow

In the first four months， the total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 13，814.2 billion， down by 0.2% year on year. Analyzed by different areas， the retail sales in urban areas reached RMB 11，992.9 billion， down by 0.3% year on year； the retail sales in rural areas reached RMB 1，821.3 billion， up by 0.4%. Grouped by types of consumption， the retail sales of goods was RMB 12，488 billion， up by 0.4% year on year； the income of catering was RMB 1，326.2 billion， down by 5.1%. The sales for goods for basic living went up rapidly. The retail sales of beverage， that of grain， oil and food and that of traditional Chinese and western medicines by enterprises above the designated size went up by 10.4%， 9.5% and 8.8% respectively. The online retail sales totaled RMB 3，869.2 billion， up by 3.3% year on year. Specifically， the online retail sales of physical goods were RMB 3，288.7 billion， up by 5.2%， accounting for 23.8% of the total retail sales of consumer goods. In April， the total retail sales of consumer goods were RMB 2，948.3 billion， down by 11.1% year on year， or down by 0.69% month on month. Of this total， the retail sales of goods was RMB 2，687.4 billion， down by 9.7% year on year； the income of catering was RMB 260.9 billion， down by 22.7%.

4. Imports and exports of goods continued to grow and trade structure continued to be optimized

In the first four months， the total value of imports and exports of goods was RMB 12，579.9 billion， up by 7.9% year on year. The value of exports was RMB 6，967.4 billion， up by 10.3%， and the value of imports was RMB 5，612.5 billion， up by 5%. The imports and exports of general trade accounted for 63.6% of the total value of imports and exports， 1.9% higher than the same period of the previous year. The imports and exports by private enterprises accounted for 48.5% of the total imports and exports， 1.4% higher than the same period of the previous year. The exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 6.7% year on year， accounting for 57.9% of the total exports. The total value of imports and exports between China and countries along the Belt and Road increased by 15.4%. Of the total， the value of goods exported increased by 12.9%； that of goods imported increased by 18.6%.

5. Consumer prices experienced mild growth and the growth of producer prices for industrial products slowed down

In the first four months， the consumer price （CPI） went up by 1.4% year on year. In April， the consumer price went up by 2.1% year on year， 0.6 percentage point faster than March， and up by 0.4% month on month. Grouped by commodity categories， prices for food， tobacco and alcohol went up by 1.9% year on year； clothing up by 0.5%； housing up by 1.2%； articles and services for daily use up by 1.2%； transportation and communication up by 6.5%； education， culture and recreation up by 2%； medical services and health care up by 0.7%； other articles and services up by 1.7%. In terms of food， tobacco and alcohol prices， prices for grain went up by 2.7%， fresh fruits up by 14.1%， fresh vegetables up by 24% and pork down by 33.3%. Core CPI excluding the price of food and energy went up by 0.9% year on year， 0.2 percentage point lower than that of March.

In the first four months， the producer prices for industrial products and the purchasing prices for industrial producers went up by 8.5% and 11.2% year on year respectively. In April， the producer prices for industrial products went up by 8% year on year， 0.3 percentage points lower than growth in March， or up by 0.6% month on month. The purchasing prices for industrial producers went up by 10.8% year on year， or up 1.3% month on month.

Generally speaking， economic performance in April was greatly affected by COVID-19 pandemic. However， this impact is temporary and external， and the favorable conditions for maintaining stable macroeconomic performance and achieving development goals are available as the economic fundamentals for long-term， steady and sound economic development remain unchanged， and the momentum for the transformation and upgrading as well as for the high-quality development remains unchanged.

（Source： National Bureau of Statistics of China）