Li Xiaochao

Spokesman

National Bureau of Statistics of China

16 July 2009

In the first half of 2009, all regions and departments effectively implemented the policies and measures set by the central government on fighting against the global financial crisis and promoting the sound and fast growth of national economy, overcame the difficulties in the progress, the national economy stabilized to recovery with increasing positive changes.

According to preliminary estimation, in the first half of this year, the gross domestic product (GDP) of China was 13,986.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.1 percent, which was 1.0 percentage point faster than that in the first quarter. In terms of growth by quarters, it was up 6.1 percent for the first quarter, and 7.9 percent for the second. In terms of growth by sectors, the value added of the primary industry was 1,202.5 billion yuan, up by 3.8 percent; that of the secondary industry was 7,007.0 billion yuan, up by 6.6 percent; and that of the tertiary industry was 5,776.7 billion yuan, up by 8.3 percent.

1. The output of summer grain increased for six consecutive years, and production of animal husbandry industry kept steady growth. The total output of summer grain was 123.35 million tons, an increase of 2.60 million tons, up 2.2 percent, which was the sixth successive year of increased output. Of this total, 2.50 million tons of grain was brought by expanding acreage, which accounted for more than 96 percent of the total increased output. In the first half of this year, the total output of pork, beef and mutton reached 35.80 million tons, a year-on-year growth of 6.3 percent. The output of pork reached 23.63 million tons, up by 8.1 percent. The total stock of pigs rose by 3.9 percent while the number of slaughtered pigs grew by 7.9 percent.

2. The industrial production picked up quickly, and the decreasing rate of profits made by industrial enterprises slowed down. In the first half of this year, the total value added of the industrial enterprises above designated size was up 7.0 percent year-on-year (10.7 percent in June), or 9.3 percentage points lower than that in the same period of 2008. Of this total, the growth in the first quarter was 5.1 percent, and that in the second quarter was 9.1 percent. Analysis on different types of enterprises showed that the value added growth of the state-owned and state holding enterprises went up by 1.7 percent; collective enterprises, 5.9 percent; share-holding enterprises, 9.4 percent; and 1.2 percent growth for enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan province. The year-on-year growth of heavy industry was 6.6 percent, and 8.2 percent for the light industry. Among the 39 industrial divisions, 36 divisions kept year-on-year growth. In terms of different areas, the growth in eastern, central and western regions went up by 5.9 percent, 6.8 percent and 13.2 percent respectively. The production and marketing of industrial products went on well. In the first half of this year, the sales ratio of industrial products was 97.2 percent.

In the first five months of this year, the profits made by industrial enterprises above designated size stood at 850.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 22.9 percent, narrowed down by 14.4percentage points as compared with that in January and February period. Among the 39 industrial divisions, 19 divisions registered year-on-year drop with profits while certain divisions kept fast growth or reversed from loss to profit making. The growth went up 17.1 percent for food manufacturing, and 16.6 percent for the manufacture of textile wearing apparel, footwear and caps. The divisions of ferrous metal smelting and pressing, and non-ferrous metal smelting and pressing made profits of 2.6 billion yuan and 9.6 billion yuan whereas they suffered losses of 0.8 billion yuan and 1.9 billion yuan in the first two months of this year respectively.

3. Investment in fixed assets enjoyed fast growth with improved investment structure. In the first half of this year, the investment in fixed assets of the country was 9,132.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 33.5 percent, or a rise of 7.2 percentage points as compared with the growth in the same period last year. The investment in urban areas reached 7,809.8 billion yuan, up by 33.6 percent (35.3 percent growth in June), or 6.8 percentage points higher while that in rural areas was 1,322.3 billion yuan, up by 32.7 percent, or a rise of 9.5 percentage points. Of the total urban investment in fixed assets, that in the primary industry, secondary industry and the tertiary industry in urban areas went up by 68.9 percent, 29.0 percent and 36.6 percent respectively. The investment in eastern, central and western regions grew by 26.7 percent, 38.1 percent and 42.1 percent respectively. The investment in infrastructures (excluding electricity) went up by 57.4 percent, of which, that in railway transportation, up by 126.5 percent, that in road transportation, up 54.7 percent, and that in management of water conservancy, environment and public facilities, up by 54.5 percent; the increase in investment in health, social security and social welfare was 71.3 percent, and that in culture, sports and entertainment was 57.1 percent.