New development dynamics highlights of China's economy: official

BEIJING - New economic drivers are surfacing in China and its industrial structure is improving, said an official Friday.

Despite headwinds in July, there was fast development in new industry, technology, businesses and services, said Sheng Laiyun, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics.

His remarks echoed a statement by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), which said Thursday that new economies and dynamics are spurring growth, retooling industries and creating jobs.

China's high-tech sector grew 12.2 percent in terms of value added in July, 0.6 percent faster than June, on the back of technological innovation, Sheng told reporters at a press conference.

Investment in the high-tech sector grew 14.2 percent in the first seven months of 2016, while financing for energy-intensive industries declined.

The new energy vehicle sector grew 52.5 percent in July, he said, adding that revenues of strategic emerging services grew 15.6 percent year on year in the first half of 2016.

Some 177,000 new energy autos were produced and about 170,000 were sold in the first half of 2016, up 125 percent and 126.9 percent respectively, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Meanwhile, the new business model of the sharing economy has evolved into a vital part of China's economy, hitting a market scale of 1.95 trillion yuan ($295.5 billion) in 2015, according to an Internet Society of China report.

With an annual growth of 40 percent, China's sharing economy market will account for more than 10 percent of the country's GDP by 2020, the report predicted.

Stellar growth has made the sector a huge employer, with the leading ride-hailing service provider Didi creating 13 million jobs.

The development of new economies gained momentum after endorsement in the annual government work report in March, which said new development dynamics and new economies must be promoted.

Boosted by pro-innovation and entrepreneurship measures, an average of more than 40,000 market entities were registered every day in the first half of 2016, according to NDRC data.

The number of patents surged 41 percent to 164,000 in the first half of 2016.

China's economy grew 6.7 percent year on year in the second quarter, flat with the first quarter, the slowest pace since the global financial crisis.

Confronted with medium growth, China needs to develop new economies as a national strategy in order to boost development and overcome the middle income trap, said Liu Yingjie, director of the comprehensive bureau of the Research Office of the State Council.