BEIJING: China is witnessing sustained economic recovery, with consumption, investment, and industrial production maintaining positive momentum since April amid coordinated macro policy support, according to a series of indicators released on Saturday by China’s State Information Centre (SIC).
Data shows that excavator sales rose 17.6 percent year on year in April, including a 16.4 percent domestic increase, marking a continued recovery in heavy machinery demand, a key gauge of infrastructure activity.
Shen Chunfeng, an expert from Rootcloud’s Excavator Index, noted that road construction is accelerating, driven by seasonal factors and policy stimulus, reflecting China’s growing endogenous economic momentum.
At the same time, local government bond issuance surged 84 percent year on year to 3.54 trillion yuan ($50.6 billion) from January to April, hitting record highs in both volume and growth rate. Project contract awards climbed 10 percent year on year in April, as per SIC tender data.
The synchronized growth in funding and project launches shows that China has made simultaneous efforts in policies, funds and projects, which is bolstering growth and domestic demand, said Wei Ying, deputy director of the Big Data Development Department of the SIC.
In addition, China’s startup vitality index jumped 36.8 percent year on year in April, while the tech-innovator index rose 28.9 percent year on year.
China’s innovation ecosystem, such as spanning laws, financial policies, and research and development incentives, has empowered businesses to invest and innovate boldly, noted Liu Fang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research.
In the consumption sector, offline consumption activity index grew 25.4 percent year on year, while online service demand rose 14.2 percent on an annual basis.
Weathering external headwinds, the high-frequency data in April underscores China’s economic resilience, said Wei. She added that with incremental and existing policies taking full effect in the second quarter, the steady growth momentum is expected to strengthen further.
