BEIJING: China’s economy maintained overall stability in August, with steady progress, according to data released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
NBS data showed that industrial output grew 5.2 percent year on year in August. Among them, equipment manufacturing increased by 8.1 percent and high-tech manufacturing surged 9.3 percent.
The consumer market has also achieved steady growth. Retail sales surpassed 3.96 trillion yuan ($557 billion), marking a 3.4-percent increase. Online retail sales remained a bright spot, climbing 9.6 percent year on year to 9.98 trillion yuan in the first eight months, the NBS data showed.
Additionally, fixed-asset investment sustained growth in the first eight months, with total investment increasing 0.5 percent year on year to over 32.61 trillion yuan.
Foreign trade volume continued to expand, with a year-on-year growth of 3.5 percent in August, reaching 3.87 trillion yuan.
Meanwhile, residential housing prices in China’s 70 large and medium-sized cities continued to see narrowed year-on-year declines in August. The prices of new commercial residential properties in first-tier cities decreased by 0.9 percent year on year, a smaller decline than the 1.1 percent drop recorded in July, while the prices of second-hand residential dropped by 3.5 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, China’s normal economic, trade, and energy cooperation with all countries, including Russia, is justified, legitimate, and beyond reproach, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday.
Lin made the remarks at a regular news briefing after the United States pushed the Group of Seven (G7) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries to impose additional tariffs on China for its imports of Russian oil.
The actions of the United States are typical of unilateral bullying and economic coercion. Such actions seriously undermine international economic and trade rules and threaten the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains. It has been proven that coercion is unwelcome and cannot resolve problems,” Lin said.
Noting that China’s position on the Ukraine crisis has been consistent and clear, Lin stated that dialogue and negotiation are the only practical ways to resolve it. China has maintained an objective position on the crisis and has continually supported peace talks since it began.
Lin emphasized that China firmly opposes the excessive, illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction imposed on China.
If China’s legitimate rights and interests are violated, it will take firm countermeasures and strongly defend its sovereignty, security, and development interests,” he added. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
