Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics released the operation of the national economy in April 2024. According to the data, China's macroeconomic operation in April was stable as a whole, and positive factors accumulated and increased, continuing to pick up. Among them, the shaping of new drivers and new advantages has been accelerated, the main indicators of industry, exports, employment, prices and so on have generally improved, and social expectations have continued to improve.

We accelerated the cultivation of new quality productivity, continued to develop new driving forces, and continued to make new progress in high-quality development. In the first four months, the cultivation and expansion of new quality productivity represented by medium and high-end manufacturing industries accelerated, which promoted the growth of equipment manufacturing above scale and high-tech manufacturing industries. The output of new energy vehicles and solar cells increased by 33.2% and 18.2% respectively, and the proportion of all industries above designated size also continued to increase, boosting the continuous optimization and upgrading of China's industrial structure.

It is worth mentioning that with the gradual release of the potential of the new consumption scenario, a new momentum of consumption has been formed. In April, although the year-on-year growth rate of the total retail sales of social consumer goods dropped slightly, with the gradual implementation of measures to expand domestic demand and promote consumption, such as the issuance of consumer vouchers by local governments, "old for new consumer goods", and the promotion of new consumption modes, such as instant retail and live broadcast with goods, the consumption of basic living and some upgrading commodities maintained a steady growth. On the whole, the online retail sales of physical goods and service retail sales from January to April still maintained a rapid growth. In particular, cultural tourism in many places has implemented preferential policies for cultural tourism consumption, such as reducing or exempting scenic spot tickets, and the demand for holiday related service consumption has been continuously released, showing a strong performance. It can be expected that the sustained growth of new industries, new products and new models will further give play to the new driving force of economic growth led by innovation and expand broader development space.

Production supply has increased steadily, and market expectations continue to improve. In April, thanks to the steady progress of high-end, intelligent and green manufacturing industry, the investment in manufacturing industry grew well, the scale of fixed asset investment maintained a steady growth, and the prosperity of industrial production remained at a high level. The added value of industries above designated size increased by 6.7% year on year, more than 80% of industries and nearly 60% of products grew again. With the steady growth policies such as "large-scale equipment renewal", on the one hand, the market demand continues to recover, the potential is gradually released, and enterprises have a better expectation of market development, forming a good support for the activity of the manufacturing industry. Data shows that the manufacturing PMI in April was 50.4%, which was in the expansion range for two consecutive months. Production continued to expand, and the supply side recovered significantly. On the other hand, investment in key areas will continue to increase, which will accelerate the formation of more physical workload, which is conducive to the steady expansion of investment.

Foreign demand has warmed up, and foreign trade imports and exports have performed well. According to the data of the General Administration of Customs, in April, China's import and export of goods continued the recovery trend since the beginning of the year, and the growth rate in that month changed from negative to positive, with a year-on-year growth of 8%. In the first four months, the scale of import and export hit a record high in the same period. The export advantage of key industrial products represented by mechanical and electrical products and labor products continued to consolidate. The export growth of integrated circuits and automobiles exceeded 20%, maintaining a strong product competitiveness. The outstanding performance of export has driven the electronics, textile and other related industries to further recover and improve, which once again shows the resilience and vitality of China's foreign trade.

Employment prices have generally improved, and investment in people's livelihood has continued to increase. In April, the unemployment rate in the national urban survey was 5%, falling for two consecutive months; The continuous expansion of consumer demand led to a steady rise in consumer prices. In April, CPI turned up from a month on month decline. At the same time, from January to April, the growth of education and sports investment was faster than that of all investment.

At present, China's national economy is running smoothly, continuing to pick up, and positive factors are accumulating. However, it should also be noted that the economy is still facing many difficulties and challenges. In the next stage, we should continue to adhere to the general tone of seeking progress while maintaining stability, implement the determined macro policies in a complete, accurate and proactive manner, take advantage of the momentum, effectively consolidate and enhance the momentum of economic recovery, and create solid support for the completion of the annual economic and social development goals and tasks.

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