Opinion

1. Provinces take lead in driving economic growth

Since the beginning of this year, China's economy has continued to recover and improve against all odds. In the first quarter, ten major economically advanced provinces and municipalities including Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang, Sichuan, and Henan, achieved a total regional GDP of RMB 19,496.594 billion, accounting for over 60 percent of the national total.

2. Private sector gaining strong legal support

China's first fundamental law dedicated to promoting the private sector came into effect on May 20, strengthening legal protections and injecting fresh momentum into a key driver of the world's second-largest economy. The Private Sector Promotion Law, passed in late April, aims to optimize the development environment for the sector, ensure fair market competition, and promote the growth of private economy and private entrepreneurs.

Policy

1. China has released an implementation guideline on accelerating high-quality development of the science and technology services sector. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the China Association for Science and Technology, and seven other government organs jointly issued the guideline. The guideline sets out goals to improve the development ecosystem, expand the scale and efficiency of the sector, accelerate the transformation and commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, and support the integrated development of sci-tech and industrial innovation.

2. China has unveiled an action plan to protect and create beautiful rivers and lakes from 2025 to 2027, with a focus on improving the quality of aquatic ecosystems. The plan, jointly released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and other government organs on May 21, set the goals of achieving notable progress in creating 40 percent of beautiful rivers and lakes by 2027.

3. China will further step up financing support for small and micro enterprises by increasing financing supply, lowering financing costs, and enhancing the precision of supportive measures, according to a guideline jointly issued on May 21 by the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the People's Bank of China, the National Development and Reform Commission and other authorities.

Data

1. China's technology market has seen robust development with 228,000 technology contracts registered from January to April 2025, the total volume of transactions reaching RMB 1.6 trillion, marking a 13.3 percent year-on-year increase, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

2. China's digital industry revenue hit RMB 8.5 trillion in the first quarter this year, up 9.4 percent year on year, 4.4 percentage points higher than the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

3. As a key initiative under Shanghai's debut 3.0 policy, streamlined inspection procedures for debut imported consumer goods have facilitated the launch of more than 20,000 new products from 20 multinational brands since implementation.

4. This year's white paper on the development of China's satellite navigation and positioning service industry noted that the total output value of the sector reached RMB 575.8 billion in 2024. China retains its global lead in satellite navigation patent, with the cumulative number of patent applications exceeding 129,000 by the end of 2024.

5. China cut market-based benchmark lending rates, with the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) down to 3 percent from the previous reading of 3.1 percent. The over-five-year LPR, on which many lenders base their mortgage rates, was lowered to 3.5 percent from 3.6 percent. Analysts said the lowered interest rates sent a clear signal that China is resolved to stabilize the market and expectations amid global uncertainties.

6. China's industrial added value of enterprises above designated size in national high-tech development zones rose 7.1 percent year on year to RMB 1.7 trillion in the first quarter this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reported on May 20.

7. The 4th China-CEEC Expo & International Consumer Goods Fair, running from May 22 to 25 in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, has attracted more than 3,000 overseas buyers from 72 countries and regions. Tentative import deals worth over RMB 10 billion were reached with CEEC partners during the event.

8. China has cultivated over 400 "little giant" firms in the AI sector, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said. "Little giant" firms refer to the novel elites among small and medium-sized enterprises that are engaged in manufacturing, specialize in a niche market and boast cutting-edge technologies.

9. China's home appliance retail sales maintained double-digit growth for eight consecutive months, from September 2024 to April 2025. Retail sales of household appliances and consumer electronics by enterprises above designated size soared 38.8 percent year on year in April, the fastest among 16 consumer categories.

10. China's food ingredient consumption market grew 2.98 percent year on year to RMB 2.74 trillion in the first quarter of this year, with distribution scale rising 3.17 percent year on year to RMB 1.76 trillion, according to China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing on May 22.

(Source: Economic Daily)