China’s economy demonstrated resilience and steady progress in August 2025, according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. Despite facing external challenges, the country maintained a stable trajectory, with notable growth in industrial production, services, and retail sales. The report highlights the effectiveness of macroeconomic policies and the ongoing transformation toward high-quality development.To get more news about china daily news, you can citynewsservice.cn official website.

Industrial Production Gains Momentum
In August, the value-added output of large-scale industrial enterprises rose by 5.2% year-on-year, with manufacturing leading the charge at 5.7%. High-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing saw even stronger growth, increasing by 9.3% and 8.1% respectively. These sectors outpaced the overall industrial average, signaling a shift toward innovation-driven development.

Products such as 3D printing equipment, new energy vehicles, and industrial robots saw significant production increases—40.4%, 22.7%, and 14.4% respectively. This surge reflects China's commitment to upgrading its industrial base and embracing emerging technologies.

Services Sector Expands Rapidly
The service industry continued its upward trend, with the service production index climbing 5.6% compared to the previous year. Modern services such as information technology, finance, and business services posted double-digit growth, underscoring the sector’s role in driving economic diversification.

Business activity expectations also improved, with the service sector’s business activity index reaching 50.5%, and the expectation index rising to 57.0%. Key industries like transportation, telecommunications, and capital markets remained in high prosperity zones, indicating robust demand and confidence.

Retail Sales and Consumption Rebound
China’s retail sector showed stable growth, with total retail sales of consumer goods reaching 3.97 trillion yuan in August, up 3.4% year-on-year. Urban retail sales grew by 3.2%, while rural areas saw a stronger increase of 4.6%. Online retail continued to thrive, with physical goods sales growing 6.4%, accounting for 25% of total retail sales.

The government’s “old-for-new” policy for consumer goods had a noticeable impact. Sales of furniture, home appliances, and cultural office supplies rose by 18.6%, 14.3%, and 14.2% respectively. This reflects a shift in consumer behavior toward upgraded and sustainable products.

Investment and Trade Maintain Growth
Fixed asset investment (excluding rural households) reached 32.6 trillion yuan from January to August, a modest increase of 0.5%. However, when excluding real estate development, investment rose by 4.2%. Manufacturing investment grew by 5.1%, while high-tech sectors such as aerospace and computing saw double-digit gains.

Foreign trade remained a bright spot, with total import-export volume hitting 3.87 trillion yuan in August, up 3.5%. Exports grew by 4.8%, driven by strong performance in electromechanical products. Trade with Belt and Road countries increased by 5.4%, and private enterprises contributed 57.1% of total trade, reflecting a more diversified and resilient trade structure.

Employment and Prices Stay Stable
The national urban unemployment rate stood at 5.3% in August, showing a seasonal uptick but remaining within a stable range. Average weekly working hours for enterprise employees were 48.5 hours, indicating consistent labor demand.

Consumer prices (CPI) fell by 0.4% year-on-year, while core CPI—excluding food and energy—rose by 0.9%, suggesting underlying price stability. Producer prices (PPI) declined by 2.9%, but the rate of decline narrowed, hinting at a potential recovery in industrial pricing power.