China sees economic boost in October as supportive policies take effect

Robots weld bodyshells of cars at a workshop of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Li Auto Inc. in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan 10, 2024. (Photo/Xinhua)

China posted improving economic data for October as a series of existing and new supportive policies took effect.

China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, increased by 5.3 percent year-on-year in October, slightly down by 0.1 percentage points from September, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Friday.

China's retail sales of consumer goods rose by 4.8 percent year-on-year in October, 1.6 percentage points higher than in September, the NBS said.

Fixed-asset investment rose 3.4 percent year-on-year in the first 10 months of 2024, maintaining the same growth rate as in the January-September period.

With the combined effects of existing and new policies, key economic indicators in consumption, services, and trade showed marked improvement, employment, and prices remained stable, and social expectations continued to improve, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui told a press conference on Friday.

High-quality development made solid progress, accumulating positive factors that supported steady economic progress and recovery, Fu said, but noted downside risks, including an increasingly complex and challenging external environment and persistently weak domestic effective demand.

In September, China intensified its policy release with targeted stimulus to stabilize economic activity as the country strives to meet its key annual economic and social development targets. Efforts included significant interest rate cuts and measures to stabilize the property and capital markets.

"October is the first month since the implementation of these incremental policies, and we're seeing initial results, with major economic indicators clearly rebounding. In particular, areas related to major national strategies, strengthening security in key sectors, large-scale equipment upgrades, and consumer goods replacement showed significant improvement," Fu said, noting that sales of autos, home appliances, and office supplies rose markedly, while infrastructure investments in water conservation, ecological protection, and roads steadily recovered.

Output in equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing saw strong growth in October, NBS data showed. New-energy vehicle production increased by 48.6 percent year-on-year, industrial robots rose by 33.4 percent, and integrated circuits by 11.8 percent.

Zhou Maohua, an economist at China Everbright Bank, told the Global Times on Friday that while industrial output expanded at a slightly slower pace than in September, it continued to show structural improvement, with high-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors seeing robust growth.

"A combination of supportive policies and the typically high consumption season in October led to better-than-expected retail sales growth, with strong auto sales and signs of stabilization in real estate," Zhou said. He predicted that the momentum in consumption recovery would continue as the property and capital markets rebound in the remaining months of the year.