According to Xinhua
news agency, key economic indicators for this year’s January to May
period showed that the Chinese economy has been expanding in a steady manner with
new impetus for so-called “high-quality development”.
Latest economic data from the National Bureau of Statistics
(NBS) of China showed that China’s industrial output has expanded 6.8% year-on-year
in May, 0.3% points higher than the same period last year, while the figure for
the first five months came in at 6.9%, also faster than 2017.
The sector-by-sector
breakdown of the NBS figures also serves to indicate changes in the
country’s economic structure and points to emerging industries.
According to Mr Wen Jianwu, Head of NBS’s department of Industrial
Statistics, industrial output of high-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors
grew 12% and 9.3% respectively in the first five months of 2018.
NBS data also showed that the information communication,
software and information technology services sectors registered growth above 30%.
At the same time, according to Mr Zhang Liqun, researcher
with the State Council’s Development Research Centee, production of new energy
vehicles, integrated circuits, and robots grew by 56.7%, 17.2%, and 35.1%
respectively in May alone. He said that these figures are a testimony to the effectiveness
of China’s ongoing supply-side structural reform.
Economic indicators for May reflected China’s continuing
stable and positive economic performance, which is more about high-quality
development, Mr Zhang also said.
According to Xinhua, “high-quality development means the
Chinese economy will focus on quality and efficiency rather than pace, and
medium-to-high growth will feature an improved economic structure and new
growth engines”.
Fuelled by rapidly expanding internet and big data
industries, the Chinese server market has become the main driving force behind
a strong global recovery, with sales up 67.4% year on year in the first quarter.
Emerging service industries, led by internet-related
sectors, contributed 56.8% to the growth in service sector production last
month, 17.9% points higher than the same period last year, according to Mr Xu
Jianyi, Head of the NBS Service Industry Department.
China has entered a new phase of consumption upgrades,
rising demands have strongly boosted the growth of service industries, Xu said,
citing prosperity-denoting business activity indexes in sectors including
internet software and telecommunication.
NBS spokesperson Mr Mao Shengyong said China’s stable and
positive economic performance will continue throughout the year thanks to
increased contribution from consumption, emerging new dynamics and more
vitality unleashed by reform and opening-up.
“As long as China gives full play to domestic demand, it
will achieve steady and relatively fast economic growth even with some external
uncertainties,” he said.
