Strong Start and Good Start - Perspective on China's Economic Performance at the Beginning of 2026
In the first year of the 15th Five Year Plan, the starting trend of China's economy has attracted much attention.
In the first two months, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size in China increased by 6.3% year-on-year; The total import and export volume of goods increased by 18.3% year-on-year, returning to double-digit growth; Fixed assets investment increased by 1.8% year on year, turning from a decline to an increase... A series of indicators reflected that China's economy is moving forward steadily and steadily.
Strong start, achieving a good start for the national economy
A strong start and a good start, "said Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, evaluating the" performance report "of China's economy at the beginning of the year in 8 words.
From the perspective of "numbers" to "trends", the main indicators have rebounded, and the shape of the economy being "upward" has been basically established——
The 'three carriages' have power.
Foreign trade is resilient. In the first two months, the import and export volume of goods increased by 18.3% year-on-year, returning to double-digit growth for the first time since January 2024.
Consumption is' warm '. From January to February, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 2.8% year-on-year, with a growth rate 1.9 percentage points faster than in December last year.
Investment is on the rise. From January to February, fixed assets investment increased by 1.8% year on year, turning from a decline to an increase.
The employment and price situation is stable.
The overall employment situation is stable. From January to February, the average urban survey unemployment rate in China was 5.3%, which was the same as the same period last year. The overall situation of rural migrant workers returning to work after the holiday remained stable, and employment remained stable.
There has been a positive change in prices. Driven by the rebound of market demand and the influence of the Spring Festival, the national Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.8% year-on-year from January to February, and the core CPI excluding food and energy rose by 1.3% year-on-year, with the increase expanding compared to December last year.
Through different dimensions, we can better feel the positive trend of economic operation.
In February, the consumer confidence index rose by 1 point compared to the previous month, marking two consecutive months of recovery. According to data from the National Information Center, the operating rate of port equipment in February increased by 3.91 percentage points year-on-year, and the workload increased by 12% year-on-year; From January to February, the offline consumption payment amount increased by 3.8% year-on-year, the start-up enterprise business vitality index increased by 15.7% year-on-year, and the technology innovation enterprise business vitality index increased by 14.8% year-on-year.
Multiple data have clearly exceeded market institutions' expectations, fully reflecting the strong vitality and resilience of the Chinese economy. We have every reason to be confident in the development of the Chinese economy, "said Fu Linghui.
A good start is inseparable from a more proactive and proactive macroeconomic policy.
The solid promotion of the "dual" construction and the continuous implementation of the "two new" policies; The first structural interest rate cut of the year has been implemented; A package of fiscal and financial policies has been launched to guide more social resources to key areas and support the expansion of domestic demand... Since the beginning of the year, a series of policies have been continuously implemented to provide solid support for economic stability and improvement.
Various regions and departments should increase countercyclical and cross cyclical adjustments, focus on leveraging the integrated effects of stock policies and incremental policies, continuously expand domestic demand, optimize supply, optimize incremental growth, and revitalize stock, "said Fu Linghui.
Picture by picture, write vivid footnotes for the spring of 2026——
Artificial intelligence models are chasing each other, and humanoid robots on the Spring Festival Gala stage are showing off their "Kung Fu mode"; During the 40 day Spring Festival travel rush, the cross regional flow of people in the whole society reached 9.41 billion, setting a new historical record; Leaders of various countries have sparked a wave of visits to China, and multiple international organizations have raised their expectations for China's economic growth. "Becoming Chinese" has become popular on overseas social media platforms
At the just concluded National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China announced its annual economic growth target of 4.5% to 5%. Many foreign media and international figures believe that the setting of this growth target injects certainty into global stability and development in the complex international situation.
The certainty provided by China is the rarest and most valuable resource in the current global economic environment, "said Stephen Ndegwa, an international expert in Kenya.
Moving towards a new direction, shaping new advantages and driving forces for development
Humanoid robots - a keyword for observing China's innovative development in the world.
At the beginning of 2026, in multiple international stages such as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, China's independently developed humanoid robots have frequently "broken boundaries" and continuously "flooded" on global social media platforms and international media.
International experts have pointed out that "China is fully prepared in the new round of technological revolution represented by embodied intelligence, and is forming technological innovation advantages in multiple aspects
Innovation is the primary driving force behind development. Moving towards a new direction, the pace of China's economic progress has become even stronger in the first year.
In the first two months, the added value of high-tech manufacturing above designated size and digital product manufacturing increased by 13.1% and 8.8% respectively year-on-year, while the added value of intelligent vehicle mounted equipment manufacturing and intelligent unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturing increased by 46.3% and 26.6% respectively.
The rapid expansion of new technologies such as artificial intelligence has increasingly played a role in the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and the development of emerging industries, "said Fu Linghui.
Since the beginning of the year, the innovation vitality of Shenzhou Land has been surging: the world's first hybrid unmanned transport aircraft has successfully made its maiden flight, the independently developed SYT80 (T1200 level) ultra high strength carbon fiber has been globally launched, and the first invasive brain computer interface medical device has been approved for market launch
The pace of technological innovation and industrial revitalization is accelerating, and the growth and expansion of new quality productivity is accelerating, injecting strong impetus into high-quality economic development, "said Pang Chaoran, a researcher at the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce.
Green is the foundation of high-quality development. Persisting in planning for the present and for the long term, the green background of the Chinese economy is even brighter.
In the first two months, the export of new energy vehicles was 583000 units, a year-on-year increase of 1.1 times; The production of wind turbines and lithium-ion batteries for energy storage increased by 28.7% and 84% respectively year-on-year; The installed capacity of new energy such as wind power and photovoltaics continues to increase, and related investments continue to expand.
China strongly supports the development of clean energy, has achieved significant results, and has led the global energy transition, providing Chinese solutions for global environmental governance and green development, "said overseas observers.
Persist in leading new supply with new demand, creating new demand with new supply, continuously unleashing the potential and vitality of China's domestic demand, and accelerating the transition from a "big market" to a "strong market".
During the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, nearly 600 million people traveled domestically, with a total travel expenditure of over 800 billion yuan, both reaching a historical high; The Spring Festival box office exceeded 5.75 billion yuan, with 120 million moviegoers... The prosperity of both the "people" and the "city" reflects the accelerated release of China's service consumption potential.
Observing more detailed data, it can be seen that the vitality of development oriented and improvement oriented demand is increasing, and the development of new consumption is improving. From January to February, the online retail sales of goods and services increased by 9.2% year-on-year, significantly faster than the growth rate of the total retail sales of consumer goods in society; According to platform monitoring, the transaction volume of online short drama platforms has increased by over 30% in the first two months.
From the changes in supply and demand structure, it can be seen that the Chinese economy not only maintains a stable and progressive development trend, but also continuously shapes new advantages and accumulates new momentum towards a new and positive direction, "said Zhang Linshan, a researcher at the Macroeconomic Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Seize the opportunity and achieve the expected annual goals and tasks with a foundation
On the banks of the Beibu Gulf, the construction site of the Pinglu Canal Ma Dao Hub is in high demand. The first canal project connecting the Yangtze River and the sea since the founding of the People's Republic of China has entered the "countdown" stage for navigation.
At present, over 85% of the metal structure installation work for the three major hubs of Pinglu Canal has been completed, and it will enter the comprehensive operation and commissioning stage of the ship lock to ensure smooth navigation, "said Cheng Yaofei, Chairman of Pinglu Canal Group Guangxi Pinglu Canal Construction Co., Ltd.
The beginning is crucial to the overall situation, and it determines the future momentum. Since the beginning of this year, major projects and key engineering constructions across the country have been busy, reflecting the enterprising attitude of various regions in seizing opportunities and starting from the beginning.
Although domestic and international challenges are still intertwined and there are many unstable and uncertain factors, the supporting conditions and basic trends for the long-term improvement of China's economy have not changed, "said Fu Linghui.
Looking at the main indicators: In the first two months, production demand has steadily increased, and the growth rate of major economic indicators has significantly accelerated. The added value of industrial enterprises above designated size and the total retail sales of consumer goods have increased by 1.3 percentage points and 1.1 percentage points respectively compared to the fourth quarter of last year. The accumulation of positive factors has strengthened, laying a good foundation for the positive development of the economy.
Looking at the demand dynamics: From January to February, China's import and export growth rate to ASEAN, the EU and the countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" remained around 20%; Efforts will be made to increase the construction of new infrastructure and livelihood infrastructure in all aspects, which is expected to drive continued investment growth; This year, China will formulate and implement plans to increase the income of urban and rural residents, and implement actions to improve the quality of service consumption and benefit the people, which will help enhance residents' consumption ability and willingness.
To achieve the expected goals and tasks for the whole year, we must work hard and make progress.
The scale of general public budget expenditure will reach 30 trillion yuan for the first time; It plans to issue 1.3 trillion yuan of ultra long term special treasury bond to continue to support the "dual" construction and "two new" work; Flexible and efficient use of various policy tools such as reserve requirement ratio cuts and interest rate cuts... Opening this year's government work report, plan report, and budget report, a series of policy arrangements continue to be made and form a joint force.
Various regions are planning key tasks to clarify the "construction drawings" and draw "keywords" for the first year: Anhui has made a series of deployments around technological innovation leading the development of new quality productivity; Zhejiang anchors high-quality development and construction of a demonstration zone for common prosperity, highlighting measures and arrangements; Guangdong holds a provincial conference on high-quality development, focusing on the coordinated development of manufacturing and service industries
Targeting established goals from the central to local levels, taking advantage of the situation, taking proactive actions, constantly innovating policy measures, and solidly promoting high-quality development in the first year with practical actions, "said Zhang Linshan.
The spring breeze is majestic, and everything is renewed.
At present, winter wheat in many areas is gradually turning green, rice seedling cultivation is unfolding one after another, and vast fields are full of spring vitality; The construction of key projects in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is accelerating, and the machines in industrial parks are roaring; In the Yangtze River Delta region, intelligent manufacturing enterprises are operating at full capacity, and automated production lines are running efficiently
With the cultivation and strengthening of new quality productive forces, the acceleration of the construction of a new development pattern, and the effectiveness of macroeconomic policies, the national economy is expected to continue to maintain a stable and progressive development trend, continue to move towards new and better directions, and lay a good foundation for achieving the expected goals and tasks for the whole year, "said Fu Linghui.