Opinion

Solid Support for Achieving the Full-Year Expected Targets

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that, according to preliminary calculations, China's gross domestic product (GDP) in the first three quarters reached 107,107.1 billion yuan, up 4.6 percent year on year at constant prices. By quarter, GDP grew 5.0 percent year on year in the first quarter, 4.3 percent in the second quarter and 4.5 percent in the third quarter. Overall, the economy performed steadily in the first three quarters, maintaining a development momentum characterized by new growth drivers, an optimized structure and improved quality and efficiency, which has strongly advanced high-quality economic development.

New growth drivers. Since the beginning of this year, innovation-driven development has delivered notable results, with innovative achievements in key fields emerging intensively and being applied. The debut of "Jiuzhang-4," the successful maiden flight of the Long March 10B carrier rocket, the rollout of the world's first largest-tonnage ring-rail crane, and new breakthroughs in the high-speed Earth-Moon laser communication have provided solid scientific and technological support for industrial transformation and upgrading. Scientific and technological achievements are being translated into industrial applications at a faster pace. Industries in new tracks such as artificial intelligence, new energy and new materials have continued to grow rapidly, and the supporting role of innovation-driven development in economic growth has continued to strengthen.

Optimized structure. From the perspective of industrial structure, the development of the three industries has become more coordinated. Agricultural production is in good shape, and another bumper grain harvest is expected for the year. The scale of manufacturing has remained generally stable, with the value added of manufacturing accounting for 25.7 percent of GDP in the first three quarters. The share of high-end industries has increased, with the value added of high-tech manufacturing accounting for 1.6 percentage points more of the value added industrial output of enterprises above designated size year on year in the first three quarters. The service sector has contributed more to economic growth, and new types of services and R&D-oriented services have maintained relatively rapid growth.

Improved quality and efficiency. From the perspective of green transition, energy consumption per unit of GDP fell 3.1 percent year on year in the first three quarters, and the penetration rate of new energy vehicles exceeded 60 percent for six consecutive months. From the perspective of opening up, China has become a major trading partner of 169 countries and regions, the share of intermediate goods exports has steadily increased, and high-level opening-up platforms are being developed at an accelerated pace. From the perspective of security safeguards, China has accelerated the green transition of energy, diversified imports and expanded independent production, effectively resisting risks, offsetting fluctuations and stabilizing expectations.

Policy

1. China plans to fully link three national highways -- the G219, G331 and G228 -- creating an ultra-long ring route that traces China's borders and coastal areas during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). China's "golden outer ring" highways fuel new economic corridors, with a total construction and renovation length of about 7,400 kilometers and total investment of about 370 billion yuan.

2. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released on October 21 an action plan on controlling both the total amount and intensity of carbon emissions across the industrial and information technology sectors for the 2026-2030 period to speed up China's green and low-carbon transition. By 2030, the plan targeted the formulation and implementation of around 400 carbon footprint accounting standards for key industrial products and the establishment of roughly 500 national-level zero-carbon factories and zero-carbon computing facilities.

Data

1. According to the National Financial Regulatory Administration, in the first three quarters of this year, the banking sector provided more than 20 trillion yuan in new financing support to the real economy, while insurance payouts reached nearly 2 trillion yuan. This effectively leveraged banks as the main financing channel and insurance as a protective buffer.

2. China's foreign trade in goods increased 18.8 percent year on year to reach 39.94 trillion yuan in the first nine months. Imports helped drive the expansion, rising 22.3 percent year on year to 16.74 trillion yuan during the same period, while exports recorded a 16.4-percent growth to 23.20 trillion yuan. Trade by private enterprises grew 19.1 percent and accounted for 56.9 percent of the total, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

3. China's postal sector maintained solid growth in the first three quarters of 2026. The sector handled 164.13 billion items in the January-September period, up 3.7 percent year on year, with business revenue rising 5.8 percent year on year to 1.39 trillion yuan, according to data released by the State Post Bureau.

4. Chinese border authorities handled 192 million entries and exits in the third quarter of 2026, up 7.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Immigration Administration.

5. During the January-September period, China’s civil aviation sector handled 593.19 million passenger trips, up 2 percent year on year, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

6. Data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on October 20 showed that in September, China's cross-border receipts and payments grew 9 percent month on month. Foreign exchange settlement and sales rose 17 percent over the same period. The non-banking sector, including enterprises and individuals, recorded a cross-border capital inflow of 40.7 billion U.S. dollars.

7. From January to September, China's basic medical insurance fund (including maternity insurance) recorded 2.3 trillion yuan in revenue and 1.75 trillion yuan in expenditure, the National Healthcare Security Administration said.

8. China's carbon market is entering a phase of rapid development. The national carbon emissions trading market has officially crossed 1 billion metric tons, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on October 21.

9. China's industrial economy posted steady growth in the first three quarters, with the value-added industrial output of enterprises above designated size rising 5.3 percent year on year and the industrial sector's contribution to economic growth remaining around 35 percent, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

10. China Development Bank has stepped up implementation of the urban renewal initiative and leveraged its role as policy-based finance this year. In the first three quarters, it allocated 36.1 billion yuan in loans to support the upgrading of municipal pipelines and underground utility tunnels in Shanghai, Jilin, and other regions.

(Source: Economic Daily)