Hard-won target shows economy on the rebound

In 2024, China's GDP grew by 5 percent year-on-year, successfully meeting the annual economic growth target of about 5 percent. That's a hard-won result.

Driven by the implementation of a series of incremental macroeconomic policies since September 2024, the recovery of the economy in the fourth quarter has accelerated, with production and demand both improved.

That is reflected in the rebounding of the industry and service sectors, consumer demand, infrastructure and manufacturing investment, and sales in the real estate market.

More important, the economic structure has also been continuously optimized and upgraded in the process. In 2024, the value added of China's high-tech industry and investment both achieved rapid growth, and the proportion of the service sector in its GDP increased to 56.7 percent.

The annual industrial value added last year increased by 5.8 percent compared with 2023. In particular, high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing maintained a high output growth rate throughout 2024, accounting for 16.3 percent and 34.6 percent respectively of the value added of industrial enterprises above designated size.

The service industry also accelerated its expansion, with the service industry production index increasing by 5.2 percent compared with 2023, and the growth rate in each month of the fourth quarter remaining above 6 percent.

The trade-in policy has significantly boosted residents' consumption and manufacturing equipment renewal, while the recovery of manufacturing and infrastructure has led to a relatively rapid growth in overall investment.

Fixed asset investment grew by 3.2 percent in 2024. The cultivation of new quality productive forces and the increase in equipment renewal policies continued to drive investment, and the capacity utilization situation also improved at the same time. In the fourth quarter, the capacity utilization rate of industrial enterprises above designated size was 76.2 percent, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from the third quarter, which is expected to further enlarge the space for manufacturing investment growth in the future.

Driven by the package of incremental policies continuously introduced by the central and local governments, coupled with the recovery of the endogenous momentum of the economy, China's national economy will continue to rebound and the macro fundamentals will continue to improve, laying a solid foundation for the country's high quality development this year.

21ST CENTURY BUSINESS HERALD