Opinion

1. Leveraging China’s super large market advantage

Amid external uncertainties, China’s robust domestic market remains a cornerstone of confidence. In the first quarter of 2025, China witnessed impressive economic performance: total retail sales of consumer goods grew 4.6 percent year-on-year, accelerating by 1.1 percentage points from 2024; new energy passenger vehicle sales surged 36.4 percent, with a market penetration rate of 47.2 percent; the box office revenue hit a historic high of RMB 24.4 billion, up 48 percent year-on-year. These figures reflected the steady momentum and unleashed potential of China’s huge market. By intensifying efforts to boost consumption, expand domestic demand, and strengthen domestic economic cycle, China will further unlock its vast domestic demand, injecting stronger momentum into economic growth.

2. Low-altitude economy enters new phase of growth

China’s low-altitude economy is poised for new development opportunities following measures released by the office of the central air traffic management committee. The measures focused on refining regulatory systems, optimizing airspace resource allocation, enhancing operational efficiency, bolstering infrastructure, and strengthening legal governance of airspace use.

Policy

1. The People's Bank of China announced recently that it has set up a relending facility for service consumption and elderly care, aiming to guide financial institutions in strengthening support for these sectors. It will encourage and guide financial institutions to beef up support for key areas in the service consumption sector - such as accommodation and catering, culture, sports and entertainment, and education, as well as elderly care industry.

2. By the end of 2025, 5G network will cover more than 90 percent of China’s villages, according to the 2025 outline for promoting the application of digital technologies in rural areas, jointly released by the Cyberspace Administration of China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

3. China will provide financial support for facilitating Guangzhou’s Nansha district in deepening comprehensive cooperation within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, positioning it as a driver in regional development, according to five departments, including the People’s Bank of China.

Data

1. China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, data from the implementation report of China's monetary policy in the first quarter of 2025 released on May 9 by the People's Bank of China showed. Social confidence continued to be boosted, high-quality development was solidly advanced, and the national economy achieved a good start.

2. The value of China's international trade in goods reached RMB 14.14 trillion in RMB terms in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 2.4 percent, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs on May 9.

3. China has recently achieved cross-provincial off peak green power trading for the first time through market-oriented transaction, with 12 million kilowatt hours of green power from Xinjiang being transmitted to Beijing during off peak hours, according to the Capital Electric Power Trading Center.

4. During the January-April period, fixed-asset investment in the country's railway sector reached RMB 194.7 billion, up 5.3 percent year-on-year, according to data from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. By implementing major national strategies and building up security capacity in key areas, China State Railway Group had promoted the construction of railway projects with high quality and efficiency.

5. China's auto output and sales reported double-digit increases in the first four months of the year, indicating vibrant domestic consumption despite global uncertainties. The auto production stood at nearly 10.18 million units in the period, up 12.9 percent from a year ago, while the auto sales rose 10.8 percent to 10.06 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on May 12.

6. The trading volume of the national futures market in April was 809 million lots, with a turnover of RMB 70.18 trillion, an increase of 21.49 percent and 23.69 percent respectively year-on-year. According to the transaction volume statistics, the top three varieties ranked by each commodity futures exchange are gold, silver, and copper from Shanghai Futures Exchange, according to the latest statistics from the China Futures Association.

7. Trade between China and Latin American and Caribbean countries exceeded USD 500 billion for the first time in 2024, which was more than 40 times that of the beginning of this century, and China's direct investment flow to Latin America reached USD 14.71 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce. As of March this year, the enterprises established by Latin American countries in China has reached 37,000.

8. According to the report released by the People's Bank of China on May 14, preliminary statistics showed that the outstanding aggregate social financing totaled RMB 424.0 trillion by the end of April 2025, up 8.7 percent year-on-year.

9. The total import and export volume of the pilot free trade zones reached RMB 2 trillion from January to March, a year-on-year increase of 2.2 percent, which is higher than the national growth rate, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

10. As of now, China has built 16,000 incubation carriers for various types of technology-based enterprises, and established an incubation service system covering 95 percent of county-level and above regions in the country, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The number of technology-based enterprise incubators in China ranks first in the world.

(Source: Economic Daily)