China's economy poised to achieve annual growth target with steady November momentum

BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's economy has maintained steady momentum in November, creating favorable conditions to achieve the annual growth target, as revealed by the latest economic indicators on Monday.

Key economic indicators -- industrial production, retail sales and services -- extended gains last month, while employment continued its stable trend, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Facing a complicated situation due to a changing external environment coupled with internal risks and challenges, China's economy has sustained steady progress supported by strong resilience, supportive macro policies and the expansion of new growth drivers, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui told a press conference.

In November, the country's value-added industrial output expanded 4.8 percent year on year. In the first 11 months, the industrial output increased by 6 percent.

The retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the consumption strength, rose by 4 percent year on year in the first 11 months, totaling 45.61 trillion yuan (about 6.45 trillion U.S. dollars). In November alone, retail sales of consumer goods went up 1.3 percent.

The services sector also recorded steady expansion last month, with the services production index climbing 4.2 percent year on year, the data showed.

On the job front, China's job market has remained generally stable, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate at 5.1 percent in November. For the first 11 months, the indicator was 5.2 percent on average.

Speaking at the press conference, Fu highlighted the notable growth of new quality productive forces, which have injected fresh vitality into economic development.

During the January-November period, the value-added output of the high-tech manufacturing sector increased by 9.2 percent year on year, while that of digital products manufacturing went up 9.3 percent.

Notably, the production of industrial robots and integrated circuits surged by 29.2 percent and 10.6 percent year on year, respectively, in the first 11 months, according to Fu.

China has targeted a full-year economic growth of around 5 percent this year. In the first three quarters, the economy grew by 5.2 percent.

The sound momentum of China's economy is attributable to the precise implementation of more proactive and impactful macro policies, Fu said, adding that recent policy measures on boosting consumption, investment and the large-scale application of new scenarios will further strengthen the growth momentum.

The spokesperson also noted that international organizations have recently raised their forecasts for China's growth, reflecting the international community's confidence in the country's economy.

Looking ahead to the next year, Fu said China's economic foundation will remain solid, with numerous advantages, strong resilience and vast potential.

The recent Central Economic Work Conference has set policy priorities and key tasks for economic work next year, Fu said, adding that China will continue to expand domestic demand, optimize supply and focus on securing the steady development of employment, enterprises, markets and expectations.

These efforts are expected to lay a solid foundation for a good start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Fu said.