National Bureau of Statistics: China has solid support to achieve its full-year economic growth target

China News Service, Beijing, October 19 (Reporter Chen Su) "From the first three quarters, the economy has obvious characteristics of stable operation and new and improved trends. The positive factors promoting stable economic operation and high-quality development have continued to accumulate and increase, and there is solid support for achieving the expected economic growth target for the whole year." Mao Shengyong, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics of China, said in Beijing on the 19th.

At the State Council Information Office press conference held that day, the National Bureau of Statistics released China's economic data for the first three quarters. Statistics show that in the first three quarters of this year, China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.6% year-on-year.

Talking about whether China can achieve the expected economic growth target of 4.5% to 5% for the whole year, Mao Shengyong said that in the first three quarters, China's economic growth rate reached 4.6%, leading the world's major economies, and indicators such as prices, employment, income, and the balance of payments have generally remained relatively stable. The smooth operation of the economy in the first three quarters has laid a good foundation for the smooth realization of the full-year goals.

Mao Shengyong said that the GDP growth rate in the third quarter rebounded by 0.2 percentage points compared with the second quarter. The main economic indicators in September performed better than those in July and August, and the main economic indicators are developing well. Positive factors in economic operation have increased. For example, new driving forces have continued to maintain rapid growth, and the contribution rate of the entire new driving force to economic growth has exceeded 40%; China's foreign trade has continued to demonstrate its strong resilience. Since the beginning of this year, the total import and export volume has maintained rapid growth, exports have maintained double-digit growth, and imports have grown by more than 20%. Foreign trade resilience is very strong; from September, the manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) and non-manufacturing business activity index have both returned to the boom range, and market expectations have improved.

Mao Shengyong said frankly that China's economy is also currently facing difficulties. From an external perspective, there are many uncertain and unpredictable factors. Internally, it is also facing the pressure of weak domestic demand, strong supply and weak demand, and some structural adjustments.

"But judging from the data in the first three quarters, domestic demand is gradually improving." Mao Shengyong said that domestic consumption was improving in the first three quarters, and the import growth rate exceeded 20%, reflecting the improvement of the domestic market. From the perspective of prices, the CPI (Consumer Price Index) in the first three quarters rose by 0.9% year-on-year. The core CPI after deducting food and energy prices rose by 1.1% year-on-year. Prices rose moderately. The PPI (Industrial Producer Price Index) rose by 2.3% year-on-year, indicating that the market supply and demand relationship is improving.