<img src='https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-08-15/China-sees-steady-economic-growth-in-July-1w5oPaoiLte/img/8327bdf9333b43e99baf757df67aadb7/8327bdf9333b43e99baf757df67aadb7.jpeg' alt='Shelves full of vegetables at a supermarket in Shanghai, August 6, 2024. /CFP'
China saw steady economic growth in July, as indicated by official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Thursday.
China’s value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, expanded 5.1 percent year on year in July.
On a monthly basis, the industrial output edged up 0.35 percent in July from the previous month.
Addressing a press conference, NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua said that 80 percent of industries and nearly 60 percent of products registered year-on-year increases.
The service production index increased by 4.8 percent year on year in July, quickening by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month.
In addition, China’s retail sales of consumer goods went up 2.7 percent year on year to nearly 3.78 trillion yuan ($529 billion).
Services consumption stood out, said Bruce Pang, chief economist of JLL Greater China. He added that the growth rate of consumption, after excluding automobile consumption, was faster than that of the same period last year, effectively stabilizing the economy after a slight slowdown in investment growth.
China’s fixed-asset investment rose 3.6 percent year on year to reach about 28.76 trillion yuan; while foreign trade reached 3.68 trillion yuan, reflecting a 6.5 percent year-on-year increase.
The scale of investment in fixed assets has expanded, the import and export of goods have grown rapidly, and the trade structure has continued to be optimized, said Liu.
(Cover via CFP; With input from Xinhua)
