Expanded domestic demand underscores China's economic vitality, potential

BEIJING -- Domestic demand, which encompasses both consumption and investment, is a crucial engine for economic growth, linking the economy with societal well-being.

As the effects of the country's supportive policies continued to filter through, China saw a noticeable pickup in consumption growth and a stable increase in fixed-asset investment in October, noted guest speakers who joined the ninth episode of the China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency, which was broadcast on Monday.

Here are the facts and figures regarding China's domestic demand for the first 10 months of 2024:

-- The government introduced the large-scale equipment upgrade and consumer goods trade-in program in March this year to expand domestic demand and shore up the economy. Under the initiative, consumers receive subsidies for replacing products ranging from phones to cars.

-- Driven by the national trade-in program, household appliances and audio-visual equipment reported a 39.2 percent surge in combined sales compared to a year earlier, and the sales of stationery and office supplies jumped 18 percent. Furniture and automobiles also saw increases of 7.4 percent and 3.7 percent in sales, respectively.

-- In the first 10 months, retail sales of consumer goods expanded 3.5 percent from a year earlier to 39.9 trillion (about 5.55 trillion U.S. dollars), 0.2 percentage points higher than the January-September period. In particular, online sales of physical goods rose 8.3 percent.

-- Service consumption, particularly in tourism and entertainment, has seen rapid growth this year. From January to October, retail sales of services rose by 6.5 percent year on year, outpacing the growth of retail sales for goods.

-- Growth of China's fixed-asset investment increased 3.4 percent year on year in the January-October period, and the growth rate was the same as that in the first nine months of this year.

-- China's investment in infrastructure construction rose 4.3 percent from a year ago during the January-October period, and manufacturing investment increased 9.3 percent, with the growth rates both accelerating from those registered in the first nine months of the year.

-- Investment in high-tech industries maintained robust growth, up 9.3 percent year on year. In breakdown, investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services gained 8.8 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively.

China will continue to explore the potential for growth in investment and consumption, aiming to give the domestic demand engine a stronger boost, according to the guest speakers.