National Bureau of Statistics: Economic performance is expected to improve in May

　　Zhongxin Finance, May 16. On the 16th, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on the operation of the national economy in April. Fu Linghui, spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics and director of the National Economic Comprehensive Statistics Department, said that now Jilin, Shanghai and other places The epidemic in China has been effectively controlled, the resumption of work and production is progressing in an orderly manner, and a series of policies and measures, such as expanding domestic demand, helping enterprises to bail out, ensuring supply and stable prices, and safeguarding people's livelihood, are taking effect, and economic performance is expected to improve in May.

　　Fu Linghui mentioned that since the beginning of this year, the overall temperature in Beijing has increased due to seasonal changes, but some time ago, due to the arrival of cold air, Beijing has cooled down and the weather has changed.

The weather in Beijing is heating up this week, and the temperature changes have a certain trend. The short-term temperature changes are abnormal fluctuations, but they cannot change the overall warming trend of the weather.

In the same way, the impact of the epidemic also had some adverse effects on the economic operation in April.

In April, the growth rate of industrial added value above designated size fell by 2.9% year-on-year, the service industry production index fell by 6.1%, and the total retail sales of consumer goods fell by 11.1%.

　　Fu Linghui said that in general, these are short-term changes brought about by the impact of the epidemic, and they are all phased and external.

　　Fu Linghui introduced that, first, my country's economy has a considerable size and strong resilience to risk shocks.

In 2021, China's total economic volume has reached 114 trillion yuan, ranking second in the world in terms of total volume. The large-scale market has obvious advantages, and the industrial system is complete and supporting capabilities are strong, providing a strong guarantee for resisting various risks and challenges.

In April this year, some areas were severely affected by the epidemic, but from a national perspective, the total scale of major production demand indicators is still considerable. In April, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 2.9 trillion yuan, the total import and export volume was 3.2 trillion yuan, and the output of steel products 110 million tons, and raw coal output reached 360 million tons.

From the cumulative point of view, the main indicators of the country still maintained growth.

From January to April, the added value of industries above designated size increased by 4% year-on-year, and the investment in fixed assets and the total import and export volume increased by 6.8% and 7.9% respectively.

　　Second, the basic industries are strongly supported and the supply guarantee capability is strong.

Under the impact of the epidemic, my country's basic industries such as food and energy have maintained growth, laying a solid foundation for fighting the epidemic and promoting economic recovery.

From the perspective of agriculture, as local governments increase support for agricultural production and strengthen field management, the current situation of winter wheat seedlings continues to improve, and the preparation for spring planting is progressing smoothly, and the progress is faster than the same period last year.

From the perspective of energy, the increase in production and supply continued to increase, and the main energy products grew rapidly. In April, the output of raw coal, crude oil and natural gas increased by 10.7%, 4% and 4.7% year-on-year respectively.

From the perspective of basic industries, major industries continued to grow and supply remained stable.

In April, the added value of above-scale ferrous metal mining and dressing industry and non-ferrous metal mining and dressing industry increased by 3.8% and 8.9% year-on-year respectively.

　　Third, the market is effective in ensuring supply and stable prices, and the overall social situation is generally stable.

Sufficient supplies of materials related to the basic life of residents and stable market prices have maintained the normal living order of residents and ensured the overall social stability.

The production and sales of basic living commodities continued to grow.

In April, the added value of food manufacturing, alcoholic beverages and refined tea manufacturing above designated size increased by 0.1% and 0.5% year-on-year respectively.

The retail sales of grain, oil, food and beverages of units above designated size increased by 10% and 6% respectively.

Consumer prices were generally stable. In April, consumer prices rose by 2.1% year-on-year, maintaining a moderate increase. Excluding food and energy, the core CPI rose by 0.9% year-on-year, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous month.

　　Fourth, the trend of transformation and upgrading has not changed, and new kinetic energy has continued to grow.

Under the impact of the epidemic, the resilience of new industries, new formats and new models has been demonstrated, development continues to be better than traditional industries, and the trend of digital, informatization, and intelligent transformation continues.

The growth of high-tech industries was good. In April, the added value of high-tech manufacturing above designated size increased by 4% year-on-year, which was better than that of all industries.

From January to April, investment in high-tech industries increased by 22% year-on-year, better than all investment.

The digital industry has developed rapidly. In April, the added value of computer, communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing industries increased by 4.9% year-on-year, and the production index of information transmission software and information technology services increased by 10.3%.

From January to April, online retail sales of physical goods increased by 5.2% year-on-year.

Green smart products have grown rapidly. In April, the output of new energy vehicles, mobile communication base station equipment, and solar cells increased by 42.2%, 21.6%, and 20.8% year-on-year, respectively.

　　Fifth, the adjustment of macroeconomic policies is intensified, and economic performance is expected to improve at a faster pace.

Since the beginning of this year, the new combined tax and fee support policy has been effectively implemented, and financial support for the real economy has increased, which has played a positive role in alleviating the difficulties of enterprises and stabilizing the economy.

According to a recent quick survey by our bureau, 90% of the companies that have obtained incremental VAT refunds after the implementation of large-scale residual credits and tax refunds believe that their cash flow has improved, and 96.2% of them are satisfied with the policy; Among the small and micro enterprises that retained tax refunds, 84.5% believed that their cash flow had improved, and 94.6% said they were satisfied with the policy.

In response to the increasing complexity, severity and uncertainty of my country's economic development environment, the CPC Central Committee has recently put forward clear requirements for coordinating epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development. Various regions and departments have actively implemented various policies and measures, and the effects have continued to emerge.

　　Fu Linghui said that in the next stage, to promote economic stability and recovery, we must thoroughly implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, efficiently coordinate epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, increase macro policy adjustment, accelerate the implementation of established policies, and step up planning and timely planning. Implement incremental policies to control the epidemic, stabilize the economy, ensure development security, minimize the adverse impact of the epidemic on economic operations, and ensure that the economy operates within a reasonable range.

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