SCIO briefing on China's economic performance in July 2025

China News Service:

On July 31, the State Council executive meeting deployed the implementation of personal consumption loans interest subsidies and service industry business operators loan interest subsidies policies to reduce the cost of resident credit, stimulate consumption potential, and promote the development of the service industry. In the second half of the year, can the service industry become the main driving force of economic growth? Thank you.

Fu Linghui:

In recent years, China's industrial structure has been adjusted and optimized, and the share of the service industry in the national economy has steadily increased, making its support for economic growth increasingly evident. In the first half of this year, the value added of the service industry increased by 5.5% year on year, and contributing 60.2% to economic growth, making it an important driving force in economic growth. In July, with the sustained effects of macroeconomic policy package, the service sector production index rose 5.8% year on year, maintaining rapid growth whilst strongly supporting stable economic operations. From the operating conditions of the service sector in July, the following features can be observed.

First, modern services registered increasingly fast growth. The role of innovation leadership continues to strengthen, and the integrated development of technological innovation and industrial innovation has a significant driving effect on related service industries. In July, the production index of information transmission, software, and information technology services rose 11.9% year on year, significantly faster than the overall growth rate of the service industry production index. In July, the production index for leasing and business services increased by 8% year on year, maintaining rapid growth.

Second, emerging service industries were nurtured and continue to grow. New quality productive forces such as large AI models and humanoid robots are developing rapidly, strengthening their driving effect on producer service industries like scientific research and technical services. From January to June, operating revenues of information services, R&D and design services above designated size achieved double-digit growth. The pace of digital transformation is accelerating, and digital culture and sports services are growing rapidly. From January to July, the transaction volume of leading cultural and sports service platforms increased by more than 10%.

Third, tourism and travel-related services were active. Summer tourism and travel activities have increased, driving the growth of related industries. In July, the production index for transportation, storage, and postal services rose 5.5% year-on-year, accelerating by 0.4 percentage point from the previous month. In July, railway passenger volume increased by 6.6% year on year, 3 percentage points faster than the previous month, and international route passenger volume grew by 15.7%.

In addition, financial services grew rapidly. The financial industry production index rose 8.7% year on year in July, accelerating by 1.4 percentage points from the previous month. These indicate that the service industry maintained rapid growth in July, with new momentum expanding and their supporting role in economic growth continuing to be demonstrated. Looking at the situation in the second half of the year, China's service sector has many favorable conditions for development. For example, industrial upgrading will expand demand for producer services such as R&D and design, while upgrades in household consumption structure will increase demand for lifestyle services such as culture, sports and leisure. Together with various measures to promote the service sector, these factors will support sustained growth and improvement of quality and efficiency in services. As for business expectations, the business activity expectation index for the service sector in July was 56.6%, 0.6 percentage point higher than the previous month, and remaining in a relatively high expansion range of 56% and above, indicating that service-sector enterprises are optimistic about future development. In the next stage, various policies and measures promoting the development of the service industry will be implemented to consolidate and enhance the positive development momentum of the industry, and promote high-quality economic development. Thank you.

Shou Xiaoli:

Thank you to all the speakers and friends from the media. That concludes today's press conference. Goodbye, everyone.

Translated and edited by Liu Sitong, Yan Xiaoqing, Xu Kailin, Ma Yujia, Liu Caiyi, Gong Yingchun, Liu Jianing, Zhang Junmian, Fan Junmei, Ma Yujia, Li Huiru, Wang Qian, Zhang Rui, David Ball, and Tudor Finneran. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.