Despite a slight slowdown in the second quarter, China's growth has remained on track in the first half of this year, reaching an expectation-beating 6.8 percent year-on-year.
China is confident and capable of achieving its annual growth target, and it has ample policy tools to address shocks from external uncertainties, Yan Pengcheng, spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission, said when commenting on China's economic performance in the first six months of 2018 and its future growth trend.
Yan said China's major macroeconomic indicators have remained stable in the first half of this year with continued improvement in economic structure, quality and efficiency.
Liu Dongliang, a senior analyst at China Merchants Bank, said the June report is mixed. "On the whole, the situation is better than expected, but downward pressure is increasing."
China has attached more importance to the quality of growth in recent years. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said during the Party's 19th National Congress the country "has been transitioning from a phase of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development".
The International Monetary Fund has forecast China's economy would grow at 6.6 percent in 2018 in its latest World Economic Outlook report.
1GDP hits 6.8% in H1, beating expectations
China's GDP growth reached 6.8 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year, beating general market expectations, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
GDP growth in the second quarter was 6.7 percent, down from 6.8 percent in the first quarter.
Mao Shengyong, bureau spokesman, said the economy has kept its quarterly GDP growth within the range of 6.7 percent to 6.9 percent for 12 consecutive quarters and the data showed that the country's economic growth remained stable.
2CPI up 2%
China's consumer price index rose 2 percent year-on-year in the first half year of 2018, well within the annual target of around 3 percent, according to NBS data.
On a month-on-month basis, the CPI declined 0.1 percent in June primarily due to lower prices of fresh fruits and vegetables driven by abundant supply, said NBS statistician Sheng Guoqing.
3PPI up 3.9%
China's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, rose 3.9 percent year-on-year in the first half year of 2018, according to NBS data.
In June, PPI rose 4.7 percent year-on-year, beating market expectations of 4.5 percent, faster than the 4.1 percent rise in May, and picking up the pace for three consecutive months.
4PMI keeps expansion
China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 51.5 in June, above the boom-bust line of 50 and higher than an average reading of 51.3 for the first half of this year, according to the NBS.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.
The NBS data also showed that the non-manufacturing PMI edged up from 54.9 in May to 55 in June.
5Industrial output expands 6.7%
China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, expanded 6.7 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2018, according to the NBS.
Industrial output, officially called industrial value added, is used to measure the activity of certain large enterprises with an annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($3.03 million).
Ownership analysis showed that industrial output of State-holding enterprises and share-holding firms both went up 6.1 percent in June. Meanwhile, industrial output of enterprises funded by overseas investors increased 5.4 percent.
6Fixed-asset investment up 6%
China's fixed-asset investment grew 6 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year, according to the NBS.
Total FAI stood at about 29.73 trillion yuan. The growth is 1.5 percentage points lower than that of the first three months of this year.
7Real estate investment sees slower growth
China's property investment posted slower growth in the first half of this year, partly due to strengthened regulation on real estate markets, according to the NBS.
Investment in property development increased 9.7 percent year-on-year in the first six months, slightly slower than the 10.2-percent expansion recorded in the January-May period.
NBS data showed investment in the real estate sector amounted to 5.55 trillion yuan, with 70.2 percent of the total pumped into residential projects, which also slowed down mildly.
8Retail sales growth sustains momentum
Total retail sales of consumer goods in the first half surpassed 18 trillion yuan, up 9.4 percent year-on-year, according to the NBS.
Sales of products related to the ongoing upgraded consumption have shown the most robust growth, with home appliances and audio-video equipment, communication equipment and cosmetics showing the most prominent year-on-year growth of 10.6 percent, 10.6 percent and 14.2 percent, respectively.
9Foreign trade surges despite challenges
China's foreign trade surged by 7.9 percent year-on-year to 14.12 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, despite potential challenges posed by the United States' protectionist trade policies.
From January to June, the country's exports grew by 4.9 percent year-on-year to 7.51 trillion yuan, while its imports amounted to 6.61 trillion yuan, jumping by 11.5 percent from same period a year earlier, according to China's General Administration of Customs.
GAC spokesman Huang Songping said the growth of China's foreign trade benefited from the global economy's recovery, the country's efforts to optimize its industrial structure and new measures for opening-up in both trade and investment.
10New yuan loans at $1.35t
China's banks extended 9.03 trillion yuan in new yuan loans in the first half year of 2018, central bank data showed.
The year-on-year growth accelerated from 7.97 trillion yuan loans added in the same period last year, according to the data.
The M2, a broad measure of the money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, grew 8 percent from a year earlier to about 177.02 trillion yuan by the end of June.
The M1, a narrow measure of the money supply which covers cash in circulation plus demand deposits, rose 6.6 percent year-on-year to 54.39 trillion yuan by the end of June.
11FDI grows steadily
Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland rose 1.1 percent year-on-year to 446.29 billion yuan in the first six months of 2018, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
In dollar terms, FDI inflow grew 4.1 percent to $68.32 billion in H1.
In June alone, FDI inflow went up 0.3 percent year-on-year to 100.7 billion yuan.
The number of new overseas-funded companies established in H1 surged 96.6 percent from a year earlier to 29,591.
12Over 29,500 new foreign-invested enterprises
China added 29,591 newly registered foreign enterprises in the first half of this year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
The number of newly registered foreign enterprises in H1 increased by 96.6 percent from the same period last year.
13Fiscal revenue expands 10.6%
China's fiscal revenue climbed 10.6 percent year-on-year to 10.43 trillion yuan in the first half this year, according to the Ministry of Finance.
The growth retreated from the 12.2-percent gain registered for Jan-May, according to the ministry.
During the first half of the year, the central government collected 4.99 trillion yuan in fiscal revenue, up 13.7 percent year-on-year, while local governments saw fiscal revenue expand 8 percent to 5.44 trillion yuan.
In June alone, fiscal revenue increased 3.5 percent year-on-year to 1.77 trillion yuan.
14Average per capita disposable income up 6.6%
China's average per capita disposable income grew 6.6 percent year-on-year in real terms to 14,063 yuan in the first half of 2018, higher than the GDP growth rate per person, according to the NBS.
The growth was calculated after taking into consideration the effects of inflation. The nominal growth in resident income was 8.7 percent in the first six months.
15Job market remains stable
China's job market remained stable, with the unemployment rate in the first half of this year at a relatively low level of 4.9 percent, according to the NBS.
In June, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 4.8 percent, marking the third consecutive month below 5 percent.
The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 4.7 percent, unchanged from May, and down 0.2 percentage points year-on-year.
16Central SOEs deliver strong performance
China's centrally-administered State-owned enterprises reported fast profit growth in the first half of the year with a lower debt-asset ratio, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said.
Combined profits of China's central SOEs totaled 887.79 billion yuan in H1, up 23 percent from a year earlier.
The total revenues of central SOEs stood at 13.7 trillion yuan in H1, up 10.1 percent year-on-year.
"Such strong performance was partly due to China's ongoing supply-side structural reform," Peng Huagang, a SASAC spokesperson, said.
17Electricity consumption up 9.4%
China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, rose 9.4 percent year-on-year in the first six months, the most since 2012, according to the National Energy Administration.
In the Jan-June period, total power use hit 3.23 trillion kilowatt hours.
