BEIJING: The Chinese economy maintained its recovery trend in July with major economic indicators posting steady growths despite domestic COVID-19 outbreaks and heatwaves.
China’s value-added industrial output went up 3.8 percent year on year in July and 0.38 percent over June, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.
The country’s retail sales of consumer goods climbed 2.7 percent year on year last month, with sales of consumption-upgrading goods like jewelry and household appliances expanding fast.
Other major economic indicators including the index of services production and fixed-asset investment also posted year-on-year growths, the NBS data showed. Thanks to the steady economic recovery, the country’s surveyed urban unemployment rate continued to drop in July, down from 5.5 percent in June to stand at 5.4 percent last month.
The continued economic recovery in July didn’t come by easily as the country had to deal with sporadic domestic COVID-19 flare-ups and high temperatures in many regions, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui told a press conference.
Fu pointed out that the Chinese economy’s upgrading and transformation also pressed ahead.
In July, the output of new energy vehicles and solar cells rose 112.7 percent and 33.9 percent year on year, respectively. In the January-July period, the added value of high-tech manufacturing increased 9 percent year on year, and investment in high-tech industries climbed 20.2 percent. “However, the economy is still in the process of recovery with the insufficient market demand as a big constraint,” Fu said, adding that the foundation for economic recovery needs to be consolidated. –Agencies
