Issue No. 1, 2017 (Total 87)

2017-03-30

In the first two months of 2017, China's economic operation continued its sound and stable performance. Compared with the end of last year, the growth rate of industrial added value increased by 0.3 percentage points, and had stayed above 6-percent stably for 12 consecutive months. The growth rate of industrial electricity consumption and transport volume was increased with PPI kept rising year on year and the efficiency of industrial enterprises above designated size kept improving. The year-on-year growth rate of total fixed asset investment rose by 0.8 percentage points, and the growth rate of private investment increased by 3.5 percentage points. Exports witnessed improvement, with its growth rate turned from negative to positive. Affected by the adjustment of the car market, the consumer growth declined moderately, whereas consumer structure was upgraded by a big margin. The overheated real estate market performance in first- and second-tier cities had been initially brought under control. Financial revenue and expenditure took a turn for the better, while RMB exchange rate against US dollar remained stable and foreign exchange reserves returned back to over 3 trillion US dollars. Meanwhile, it should be noted that the scissors gap between M1 and M2 became widened, real estate loans surged rapidly and the growth of short-term loans remained sluggish. Regional divergence in terms of economic development loomed up and went contrary to the narrowing trend since the turn of the new century. The growth of residents’ income slowed down, and the increase of farmers’ income still fell short of expectations. In general, China’s economy is still experiencing a critical transitional period from high growth to mid-to-high growth. The economy has registered a stable performance whereas the economic foundation is not yet solidly based. Intensified efforts need to be made to enforce the reform in major areas and key sectors and promote the supply-side structure adjustment and the improvement of supply quality by enhancing systematic environment. By so doing could we speed up a dynamic equilibrium between supply and demand, and consolidate the foundations for stable economic growth.