Guangzhou (JLC), July 16, 2024--China’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5.0% year on year to 61.68 trillion yuan (about 8.65 trillion US dollars) in the first half of 2024, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
"Overall, the national economy has continued to improve in the first half in a stable manner," the NBS said in an online comment, citing support from policy incentives, a rebound in external demand and the development of new quality productive forces.
The value added by the primary industry gained 3.5% to about 3.067 trillion yuan, that by the secondary industry grew by 5.8% to roughly 23.65 trillion yuan and that by the tertiary industry increased by 4.6% to 34.96 trillion yuan, the NBS data indicates.
The country's retail sales of consumer goods went up 3.7% year on year in the first half, while fixed-asset investment climbed by 3.9% and value-added industrial output mounted by 6.0%.
The value of China’s imports and exports hit about 21.17 trillion yuan in the period, up 6.1% from a year earlier. Its exports gained 6.9% to 12.13 trillion yuan while imports rose 5.2% to 9.04 trillion yuan.
In the second quarter of this year, the country’s GDP rose by 4.7%, compared with 5.3% in the first quarter.
The NBS attributed the milder second-quarter GDP growth to short-term factors such as extreme weather and floods, as well as rising difficulties and challenges, especially from insufficient effective demand and unsmooth economic flow at home.
