Official data released on September 15th indicates that China's economy withstood various pressures in August to maintain overall stability while demonstrating improving structural quality. The National Bureau of Statistics spokesperson detailed that despite ongoing geopolitical tensions and natural disasters in some regions, proactive macroeconomic policies have continued to deliver results. The economy is exhibiting a pattern characterized by production stability, employment security, price steadiness, and rapid growth in emerging industries and foreign trade.
Industrial production remained solid, with value-added output from large enterprises growing 5.2% year-on-year in August, accelerating by 0.7 percentage points from the previous month. The services production index also rose 4.1%, holding steady overall. The surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5.3%, a slight increase of 0.1 percentage points from July, though manufacturing employment remained largely stable. Notable job gains occurred in information transmission, software, and IT services, while accommodation and catering sectors continued expanding employment, buoyed by robust domestic cultural and tourism activity.
Price levels stayed broadly stable in an international context of rising inflation in major advanced economies. The consumer price index rose 0.8% year-on-year in August, and producer prices for manufactured goods increased 3.8%, both considered moderate comparatively. The government's efforts to strengthen supply guarantees and ensure production of essential goods have effectively supported price stability.
New growth drivers continued to expand rapidly. Output from high-tech manufacturing and digital product manufacturing grew 16.7% and 15.7% year-on-year respectively, contributing to over 60% of overall industrial growth. The production index for information transmission, software, and IT services surged 9.6%, accounting for more than 20% of services sector growth. Meanwhile, total goods trade expanded 19.8% year-on-year in August, with notable strength in exports of green products like new energy vehicles and lithium batteries, which supports global green transformation. Imports from developing economies, including ASEAN nations, Africa, and Latin America, also grew substantially.
Investment dynamics over the first eight months have drawn significant attention, with fixed-asset investment declining 7.2% year-on-year. According to NBS officials, this decline reflects several converging factors: extreme weather events including heatwaves, typhoons, and flooding disrupted construction activities in some regions; the external environment remains complex and uncertain; and domestic economic restructuring continues as businesses adopt cautious investment postures. Officials cautioned against simplistic readings of growth rates, noting that investment priorities have shifted from mere scale expansion toward technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and foundational support.
Investment increasingly flows toward research and innovation. Intellectual property product investment climbed 9.2% in the first eight months, accounting for 15.2% of all investments, up 2.3 percentage points year-on-year. Investments in computer software and databases rose 10.9%, while research and development investment increased 7.8%, together comprising over 95% of intellectual property investment. High-tech industry investment grew 5.2% year-on-year, marking three consecutive months of accelerating growth, indicating a clear trend toward new economic frontiers driven by policy guidance and market demand.
The large-scale equipment renewal policy continues yielding benefits, with equipment purchases rising 9.3% during January-August, slightly ahead of the previous month's pace and representing 19.5% of total investment. Investment in modern infrastructure is also intensifying, including major construction projects under the 'six networks' initiative covering transport, energy, water conservancy, and new infrastructure. Internet and related services investment increased 42% over the eight-month period, air and water transport investment grew 16.7% and 14.7% respectively, and power supply investment rose 12.7%. With central budget funds largely allocated, faster issuance of local government special bonds, and new policy-based financial instruments being deployed, coordinated policies are expected to release further investment potential.
Progress continues in establishing a new development model for the real estate sector. Over the first eight months, the floor area of second-hand home transactions reached 550 million square meters, exceeding new home sales for several consecutive months. While new commercial housing sales dropped 12.1% year-on-year, second-hand transaction volumes grew 10.6%, suggesting stabilization in overall market activity. Price declines are also narrowing, with 38 of 70 major cities reporting smaller year-on-year decreases in new home prices in August compared with July, and 48 cities showing similar improvements in second-hand home prices.
Inventory levels continue declining, supported by policies such as purchase subsidies, trade-in schemes, and converting unsold stock into affordable housing. Nationwide commercial housing inventory fell 1.1% year-on-year by the end of August, extending a six-month consecutive decline, with the pace of reduction accelerating recently. Notably, stock under three years decreased 4.2%, indicating marked progress in short-term destocking efforts. As supply-demand dynamics in the housing market undergo significant changes, officials emphasize that continued implementation of reforms involving the housing provident fund system and commercial housing sales mechanisms will facilitate industry transformation and better meet people's living needs.