National Bureau Of Statistics: The National Economy Grew Steadily Against The Pressure In April

In April, the national economy withstood the pressure and grew steadily

(May 19, 2025)

National Bureau of Statistics

In April, facing the complex situation of increasing external impact and overlapping internal difficulties and challenges, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, all regions and departments earnestly implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, adhered to the general tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability, fully, accurately and comprehensively implemented the new development concept, and accelerated the construction of a new development pattern, We will promote high-quality development in a down-to-earth manner, step up the implementation of more proactive and promising macro policies, effectively respond to external shocks, steadily increase production demand, generally stabilize the employment situation, accumulate new drivers of growth, and stabilize the growth of the national economy against pressure, continuing to develop toward a new and better trend.

　　 1、 Industrial production grew rapidly, and the equipment manufacturing industry and high-tech manufacturing industry grew well

In April, the added value of industries above designated size increased by 6.1% year on year and 0.22% month on month. In terms of three categories, the added value of the mining industry increased by 5.7% year on year, the manufacturing industry increased by 6.6%, and the power, heat, gas and water production and supply industries increased by 2.1%. The added value of equipment manufacturing industry grew 9.8% year on year, and that of high-tech manufacturing industry grew 10.0%, 3.7 and 3.9 percentage points higher than that of all industries above designated size, respectively. By economic type, the added value of state-owned holding enterprises increased by 2.9% year on year; Joint stock enterprises increased by 6.6%, and foreign invested enterprises, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan invested enterprises increased by 3.9%; Private enterprises grew by 6.7%. By product, the output of 3D printing equipment, industrial robots and new energy vehicles increased by 60.7%, 51.5% and 38.9% year on year respectively. From January to April, the added value of industries above designated size increased by 6.4% year on year. In April, the purchasing managers' index of manufacturing industry was 49.0%, and the expected index of enterprise production and operation activities was 52.1%. From January to March, the total profit of industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide was 1509.4 billion yuan, up 0.8% year on year.

　 2、 The service industry grew steadily and the modern service industry developed well

In April, the national service industry production index increased by 6.0% year on year. In terms of industries, the production index of information transmission, software and information technology services, leasing and business services, wholesale and retail, and financial industry respectively increased by 10.4%, 8.9%, 6.8%, and 6.1% year on year, which was 4.4, 2.9, 0.8, and 0.1 percentage points faster than that of the service industry. From January to April, the national service industry production index increased by 5.9% year on year. From January to March, the operating revenue of service enterprises above designated size increased by 7.0% year on year. In April, the service industry business activity index was 50.1%, and the expected service industry business activity index was 56.4%. Among them, the business activity index of air transport, telecommunications, radio and television and satellite transmission services, Internet software and information technology services, insurance and other industries is in a high boom zone of more than 55.0%.

　　 3、 The market sales grew steadily, and the trade in related commodities grew rapidly

In April, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3717.4 billion yuan, up 5.1% year on year; The month on month growth was 0.24%. By the location of the business unit, the retail sales of urban consumer goods reached 3237.6 billion yuan, up 5.2% year on year; The retail sales of rural consumer goods reached 479.8 billion yuan, up 4.7%. By consumption type, the retail sales of goods reached 3300.7 billion yuan, up 5.1%; Catering revenue was 416.7 billion yuan, up 5.2%. The sales of basic living goods and some upgrading goods grew well, and the retail sales of grain, oil, food and sports and entertainment goods above the designated size increased by 14.0% and 23.3% respectively. The policy of trade in of consumer goods continued to be effective, and the retail sales of household appliances and audio-visual equipment, cultural and office supplies, furniture and communication equipment of units above the designated size increased by 38.8%, 33.5%, 26.9% and 19.9% respectively. From January to April, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 16184.5 billion yuan, up 4.7% year on year. The national online retail sales reached 4741.9 billion yuan, up 7.7% year on year. Among them, the online retail sales of physical goods reached 3926.5 billion yuan, up 5.8%, accounting for 24.3% of the total retail sales of consumer goods. From January to April, the retail sales of services increased by 5.1% year on year.

　　 4、 Investment in fixed assets continued to expand, and investment in manufacturing grew rapidly

From January to April, the national fixed asset investment (excluding farmers) was 14702.4 billion yuan, up 4.0% year on year; After deducting the investment in real estate development, the national investment in fixed assets increased by 8.0%. In terms of sectors, investment in infrastructure increased by 5.8% year on year, investment in manufacturing increased by 8.8%, and investment in real estate development decreased by 10.3%. The sales area of newly built commercial housing nationwide was 282.62 million square meters, down 2.8% year on year; The sales volume of new commercial housing was 2703.5 billion yuan, down 3.2%. By industry, investment in the primary industry increased 13.2% year on year, that in the secondary industry increased 11.7%, and that in the tertiary industry decreased 0.2%. Private investment increased by 0.2% year on year; Excluding real estate development investment, private investment increased by 5.8%. Among high-tech industries, investment in information service industry, computer and office equipment manufacturing industry, aviation, spacecraft and equipment manufacturing industry, and professional technology service industry increased by 40.6%, 28.9%, 23.9%, and 17.6% year on year respectively. In April, fixed asset investment (excluding farmers) grew 0.10% month on month.

　　 5、 The import and export of goods continued to grow, and the trade structure continued to optimize

In April, the total import and export of goods was 3839.1 billion yuan, up 5.6% year on year. Among them, the export was 2264.5 billion yuan, up 9.3%; Imports reached 1574.5 billion yuan, up 0.8%. From January to April, the total import and export of goods was 14138.9 billion yuan, up 2.4% year on year. Among them, the export was 8393.8 billion yuan, up 7.5%; Imports reached 5745.2 billion yuan, down 4.2%. From January to April, the import and export of general trade increased by 0.6%, accounting for 64.0% of the total import and export volume. The import and export of private enterprises increased by 6.8%, accounting for 56.9% of the total import and export volume, 2.3 percentage points higher than the same period last year. The export of mechanical and electrical products increased by 9.5%, accounting for 60.1% of the total export.

　　 6、 The employment situation is generally stable, and the unemployment rate in urban surveys has declined

From January to April, the average unemployment rate of the national urban survey was 5.2%, which was the same as that of the same period last year. In April, the national urban unemployment rate was 5.1%, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. The unemployment rate of local registered labor force survey is 5.2%; The unemployment rate of migrant registered labor force is 4.8%, of which the unemployment rate of migrant agricultural registered labor force is 4.7%. The unemployment rate in 31 major cities and towns was 5.1%, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. The average weekly working hours of enterprise employees nationwide are 48.3 hours.

　　 7、 Consumer prices fell slightly year on year, and core CPI rose steadily

In April, the national consumer price (CPI) fell 0.1% year on year and rose 0.1% month on month. By category, the prices of food, tobacco and alcohol increased by 0.3% year on year, clothing by 1.3%, housing by 0.1%, daily necessities and services by 0.2%, transportation and communication by 3.9%, education, culture and entertainment by 0.7%, medical care by 0.2%, and other supplies and services by 6.6%. Among the food, tobacco and wine prices, the price of fresh vegetables dropped by 5.0%, the price of grain dropped by 1.4%, the price of pork rose by 5.0%, and the price of fresh fruits rose by 5.2%. After deducting food and energy prices, the core CPI increased by 0.5% year on year. From January to April, the national consumer price fell by 0.1% year on year.

In April, the ex factory prices of industrial producers across the country fell by 2.7% year on year and 0.4% month on month; The purchase price of national industrial producers fell 2.7% year on year and 0.6% month on month. From January to April, the factory price and purchase price of industrial producers across the country fell by 2.4% over the same period of the previous year.

In general, in April, the impact of external shocks increased, but the macro policies worked together, the main indicators grew steadily and rapidly, and the national economy continued to move towards a new positive trend. It should also be noted that there are still many external unstable and uncertain factors, and the foundation for the sustained recovery of the national economy needs to be further consolidated. In the next stage, we should adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, resolutely implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, adhere to the general tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability, fully and accurately implement the new development concept, accelerate the construction of a new development pattern, coordinate domestic economic work and international economic and trade struggle, and unswervingly handle our own affairs, We will unswervingly expand high-level opening up to the outside world, focus on stabilizing employment, enterprises, markets and expectations, solidly promote high-quality development, and promote the sustained recovery of the economy.

(Source: National Bureau of Statistics)