SCIO briefing on China's economic performance in August 2025

CCTV:

We have observed that since the beginning of this year, China has vigorously boosted consumption, improved investment efficiency, expanded domestic demand in all aspects, and advanced the construction of a unified national market. Based on the data from August, what results have been achieved in implementing the recent series of policies? How would you evaluate them? Thank you.

Fu Linghui:

Thank you for your questions. There has been considerable public attention regarding the effectiveness of the policies implemented since the beginning of this year. Since the beginning of this year, facing a complex and severe development environment, all regions and departments have conscientiously implemented the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee. This has accelerated the implementation of more proactive and effective macro policies, maintained policy continuity and stability, enhanced flexibility and predictability, and promoted the steady progress of the economy. Based on the data from August, the positive impact of various policies on expanding domestic demand, optimizing supply, facilitating circulation, and boosting momentum continue to be observed, as reflected in the following key areas. 

First, the effect of expanding domestic demand has continued to be evident. The third tranche of funds for the old-for-new consumer goods trade-in policy have been allocated, continuing to enhance policy effectiveness, stimulate consumer demand, and drive rapid sales growth of related products. In August, among the retail sales of goods by units above the designated size, the retail sales of household appliances and audiovisual equipment, furniture, and cultural and office supplies continued to maintain double-digit growth. The driving effect of large-scale equipment renewals on investment continued to manifest. In the first eight months, investment in equipment and tool purchases rose by 14.4% year on year, contributing 2.1 percentage points to the growth of fixed asset investment. 

Second, the production-driven effects have been continuously unleashed. The effectiveness of policies to expand domestic demand has been transmitted to the production end, stimulating relatively rapid growth in the production of related industries. In August, driven by the equipment renewal policy, industries like boiler and prime mover equipment manufacturing and electric motor manufacturing saw their value added increase by 11.9% and 14.8% year on year, respectively. The growth rate for equipment renewal products, including numerical control devices for machine tools and specialized packaging equipment, exceeded 10%. Driven by the consumer goods trade-in policy, August saw the production of automotive lithium-ion batteries, charging piles, and electric bicycles maintain double-digit growth.

Third, the stimulus effect of economic circulation has begun to emerge. With the expansion of market demand and the growth of production, the circulation of production factors has improved. In August, the prosperity index of the logistics industry continued to see growth. Railway freight volume accelerated and the express delivery volume grew rapidly. Disorderly competition among enterprises has been regulated in accordance with laws and regulations. Capacity governance in key industries has been advanced, contributing to improvements in supply-demand dynamics in some industries. This in turn brings positive change to producer prices. In August, the PPI changed from a 0.2% month-to-month decline last month to flat growth. Within this category, prices in coal mining and washing, as well as ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing, increased by 2.8% and 1.9% month on month, respectively.

Fourth, the momentum of economic growth has been enhanced. Policies aimed at promoting innovation have continued to take effect, driving the development of new quality productive forces and enhancing new momentum for development. In August, the value-added growth rate of integrated circuit manufacturing and electronic specialty material manufacturing industries above the designated size both exceeded 20%. The "AI Plus" initiative has been deeply implemented; intelligent terminal products are increasingly favored by consumers; and the digital economy has demonstrated positive development momentum. In August, the output of new products such as industrial robots, robot reducers, and civilian drones maintained rapid growth. At the same time, under the influence of policies related to stabilizing and activating the capital market, stock trading in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets was relatively active in August, which was also conducive to improving market expectations and enhancing development vitality. Thank you.