China's GDP expands 5.3% in H1 2025, showing signs of steady recovery

<article><section data-type="rtext">China's economy expanded by 5.3 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025, signaling resilience amid global uncertainties and domestic pressures, according to data released on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).Preliminary estimates put the country's gross domestic product (GDP) at 66.05 trillion yuan ($9.2 trillion) for the January-June period. In quarterly terms, the first quarter GDP witnessed a growth of 5.4 percent year-on-year while in the second quarter it grew by 5.2 percent year-on-year and 1.1 percent quarter-on-quarter. The NBS said the national economy has "withstood pressures, overcome challenges, and maintained overall stability with steady progress."<img data-alt="Large bridge sections loaded on a cargo ship in the Qingdao West Coast New Area, Shangdong Province, China, April 3, 2025. /VCG" src="//img.huanqiucdn.cn/dp/api/files/imageDir/79f6644b7f64e3385c3570b957ab4ba7.png?imageView2/2/w/750" />Key Economic IndicatorsFixed-asset investment (excluding rural households) reached 24.87 trillion yuan, up 2.8 percent year-on-year, reflecting continued investment momentum especially in the high-tech industries.Foreign trade remained a stabilizing force as the trade structure continue to optimize, with total imports and exports of goods growing 2.9 percent to 21.79 trillion yuan.In particular, private enterprises continued to lead growth in foreign trade. "As of the second quarter of this year, China's private enterprises had achieved year-on-year growth in imports and exports for 21 consecutive quarters," said Wang Lingjun, vice- minister of China's General Administration of Customs on Monday. Industrial output from large-scale enterprises rose 6.4 percent year-on-year, underlining solid performance in equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing sectors. Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING, noted the strong industrial production growth in June, highlighting the pickup in high-tech manufacturing, which, he said, "has been an outperformer amid China's transition up to the value-added ladder."<img data-alt="Shoppers visit a newly opened mall in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, June 28, 2025. /VCG" src="//img.huanqiucdn.cn/dp/api/files/imageDir/8ecb64b6731a52793fb1086ce6f291e1.jpeg?imageView2/2/w/750" />Retail sales, a major gauge of consumption, climbed 5.0 percent to 24.55 trillion yuan, 0.4 percentage point faster than the first quarter.Price pressures remained generally stable. The consumer price index fell 0.1 percent, while producer price index – a measure of factory-gate prices – dropped 2.8 percent year-on-year.On the labor front, the nationwide urban surveyed unemployment rate averaged 5.2 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from the first quarter.Meanwhile, per capita disposable income rose 5.3 percent in nominal terms to 21,840 yuan, and 5.4 percent in real terms, signaling modest income gains for households after adjusting for price changes. "While there remains considerable uncertainty in the external environment and significant pressure for internal structural adjustments, all things considered, we believe there are solid grounds to be confident that China's economy will maintain stable growth in the second half of the year," said NBS deputy head Sheng Laiyun, citing positive growth forecasts by global institutions. </section></article>

China's economy expanded by 5.3 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025, signaling resilience amid global uncertainties and domestic pressures, according to data released on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Preliminary estimates put the country's gross domestic product (GDP) at 66.05 trillion yuan ($9.2 trillion) for the January-June period. In quarterly terms, the first quarter GDP witnessed a growth of 5.4 percent year-on-year while in the second quarter it grew by 5.2 percent year-on-year and 1.1 percent quarter-on-quarter.

The NBS said the national economy has "withstood pressures, overcome challenges, and maintained overall stability with steady progress."

Key Economic Indicators

Fixed-asset investment (excluding rural households) reached 24.87 trillion yuan, up 2.8 percent year-on-year, reflecting continued investment momentum especially in the high-tech industries.

Foreign trade remained a stabilizing force as the trade structure continue to optimize, with total imports and exports of goods growing 2.9 percent to 21.79 trillion yuan.

In particular, private enterprises continued to lead growth in foreign trade. "As of the second quarter of this year, China's private enterprises had achieved year-on-year growth in imports and exports for 21 consecutive quarters," said Wang Lingjun, vice- minister of China's General Administration of Customs on Monday.

Industrial output from large-scale enterprises rose 6.4 percent year-on-year, underlining solid performance in equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing sectors.

Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING, noted the strong industrial production growth in June, highlighting the pickup in high-tech manufacturing, which, he said, "has been an outperformer amid China's transition up to the value-added ladder."

Retail sales, a major gauge of consumption, climbed 5.0 percent to 24.55 trillion yuan, 0.4 percentage point faster than the first quarter.

Price pressures remained generally stable. The consumer price index fell 0.1 percent, while producer price index – a measure of factory-gate prices – dropped 2.8 percent year-on-year.

On the labor front, the nationwide urban surveyed unemployment rate averaged 5.2 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from the first quarter.

Meanwhile, per capita disposable income rose 5.3 percent in nominal terms to 21,840 yuan, and 5.4 percent in real terms, signaling modest income gains for households after adjusting for price changes.

"While there remains considerable uncertainty in the external environment and significant pressure for internal structural adjustments, all things considered, we believe there are solid grounds to be confident that China's economy will maintain stable growth in the second half of the year," said NBS deputy head Sheng Laiyun, citing positive growth forecasts by global institutions.