The hard won performance report highlights the resilience and vitality of the economy (authoritative release)
Each piece of data showcases the strong resilience and vitality of the Chinese economy. In 2025, China's economy will move forward under pressure and develop towards a new and better direction. The main goals and tasks of economic and social development will be successfully achieved, and the 14th Five Year Plan will come to a successful conclusion. On January 19th, at a press conference of the State Council Information Office, Kang Yi, Director of the National Bureau of Statistics, introduced the operation of the national economy in 2025 and answered questions from reporters.
Supply quality improvement
Becoming the world's first country to have over 5 million valid domestic invention patents
In 2025, China has made significant progress in innovation driven, industrial quality improvement, digital empowerment, and green transformation, "Kang Yi said.
The technological hard power continues to rise. The total investment in research and experimental development in the whole society reached 3926.2 billion yuan, ranking second in the world. China has become the world's first country to have over 5 million valid domestic invention patents, and its PCT international patent application volume has ranked first in the world for six consecutive years.
The industry is gathering momentum towards new forces, with continuous investment and expansion in emerging fields such as high-end equipment, green energy, and intelligent manufacturing. The proportion of the added value of equipment manufacturing industry and high-tech manufacturing industry above designated size to the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size reached 36.8% and 17.1%, respectively. The low altitude economy "flaps its wings and flies high", with embodied intelligence "agile thinking and action". The production of civilian drones and industrial robots increased by 37.3% and 28% respectively year-on-year.
Enhanced digital penetration, comprehensive expansion of digital industries, digital consumption, and digital infrastructure. The added value of digital product manufacturing industry above designated size increased by 9.3% year-on-year, while the added value of information transmission, software, and information technology services industry increased by 11.1%.
The green leadership is demonstrated, and the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient new energy system is accelerating. The generation of clean energy such as hydropower, nuclear power, wind power, and solar power in industries above designated size increased by 8.8%, and the proportion of non fossil energy in total energy consumption increased by about 2 percentage points compared to 2024. The competitiveness of the new energy industry continues to improve, with an annual production and sales volume of over 16 million new energy vehicles. The green transformation of traditional industries has achieved significant results, and the energy consumption per unit of added value in major energy consuming industries such as building materials, steel, and non-ferrous metals has significantly decreased compared to 2024.
Industrial production is growing rapidly. The industrial added value reached 41.7 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%, with a growth rate 0.3 percentage points faster than in 2024, and a contribution rate of 35% to economic growth, an increase of 1.8 percentage points from 2024. The added value of the manufacturing industry reached 34.7 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.1% from 2024, and its proportion to GDP remained stable at around 25%. The scale of the manufacturing industry is expected to remain the world's largest for 16 consecutive years.
Consumption towards new
The total retail sales of consumer goods in society exceed 50 trillion yuan
In 2025, the special action to boost consumption will take effect, the scale of the consumer market will steadily expand, the structure will continue to optimize, and new consumption hotspots will continue to emerge.
The role of consumer ballast stones is highlighted. The total retail sales of consumer goods in society exceeded 50 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.7% from 2024, ranking among the top in the global retail market in terms of scale; The contribution rate of final consumption expenditure to economic growth reached 52%, an increase of 5 percentage points from 2024, becoming the driving force and stable anchor of economic growth.
The vitality of service consumption is being unleashed, and residents' consumption is shifting from primarily commodity consumption to a balance between commodity and service consumption. In terms of enterprise sales, the service retail sales increased by 5.5% year-on-year, which is 1.7 percentage points faster than the commodity retail sales; In terms of household consumption, service consumption expenditure accounts for 46.1% of the per capita consumption expenditure of residents. The retail sales of tourism consulting rental services, transportation services, and cultural and leisure services all maintained double-digit growth, and the total box office of domestic films increased by over 20% year-on-year.
The new type of consumption is flourishing, driven by e-commerce, live streaming sales, online entertainment, and other factors, leading to rapid growth in online consumption. Online retail sales increased by 8.6% year-on-year. Digital technologies such as artificial intelligence drive the improvement and expansion of information consumption quality. The retail sales of communication and information services increased by over 10% year-on-year. The silver economy, ice and snow economy, and debut economy continue to heat up.
The consumption of goods continues to increase. The retail sales of goods increased by 3.8% year-on-year, with a growth rate 0.6 percentage points faster than in 2024. The consumption of basic necessities such as grain, oil, and food has grown rapidly, while the consumption of upgraded goods such as sports and entertainment products and communication equipment has shown good growth momentum.
Policy effectiveness is evident
The number of household cars per 100 households has reached 52.9
Macro policies are important means to promote high-quality economic development. In 2025, all regions and departments will intensify the implementation of more proactive and proactive macro policies, effectively implement existing policies, intensify the introduction of incremental policies, ensure stable and positive economic operation, and provide solid support for achieving the annual development goals and tasks.
Promote the smooth operation of the economy. We introduced several measures to stabilize employment, stabilize the economy, and promote high-quality development. We made good use of ultra long term special treasury bond, special bonds of local governments, and investment within the central budget. We intensified efforts to expand the scope of implementation of the "two new" policy, increased efforts to build "two heavy" projects, and played the role of new policy based financial tools to effectively hedge against downward pressure on the economy. The retail sales of six categories of goods related to trade in increased by 4.1% year-on-year, driving a 0.6 percentage point increase in the total retail sales of consumer goods in society; The investment in purchasing equipment and tools increased by 11.8%, driving investment growth by 1.8 percentage points.
Promote structural optimization and upgrading. The policy of exchanging old for new consumer goods promotes the entry of more high-quality and durable consumer goods into residents' lives, and energy-efficient household appliances and smart homes are favored. In the replacement of digital products, mid to high end models account for a large proportion. By the end of 2025, the number of household cars per 100 households in China will reach 52.9, an increase of 1.7 from the end of 2024. The policy of large-scale equipment updates has accelerated the pace of industrial upgrading. The added value of equipment manufacturing industry above designated size will increase by 9.2% year-on-year in 2025, which is 1.5 percentage points faster than in 2024.
The deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation injects vitality into economic development. The added value of large-scale intelligent unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturing and intelligent vehicle mounted equipment manufacturing industries increased by 57% and 26.2% respectively year-on-year, while the added value of integrated circuit manufacturing and optoelectronic device manufacturing industries increased by 26.7% and 18.8% respectively year-on-year. More Chinese companies have emerged in new fields such as artificial intelligence big models, quantum technology, and embodied intelligence.
Promote the improvement of economic circulation. Deepening the construction of a unified national market, optimizing market competition order, and providing favorable conditions for reasonable price recovery and improvement of enterprise efficiency. In December 2025, the core CPI increased by 1.2% year-on-year, and the year-on-year decline in industrial producer prices narrowed. From January to November 2025, the profits of manufacturing enterprises above designated size will increase by 5.0%.
Trend trending towards excellence
Domestic artificial intelligence models inject new momentum into economic development
2026 is the starting year of the 15th Five Year Plan. Overall, opportunities outweigh challenges, favorable conditions outweigh unfavorable factors, and this year's economy is stable and improving with conditions and support, "Kang Yi analyzed from four aspects.
The foundation for development is solid. During the 14th Five Year Plan period, China's economic strength, technological strength, and comprehensive national strength have reached a new level, with an economic growth of over 36 trillion yuan in the past five years. The development base has become more solid and the space has become broader, which has strengthened the advantages and accumulated confidence for the 15th Five Year Plan.
The development trend is good. Since September 2025, the year-on-year increase in core CPI has exceeded 1% for four consecutive months. In December, the Purchasing Managers' Index of the manufacturing industry returned to the expansion range, and the flow of people, logistics, and information has maintained a rapid growth trend, accumulating positive factors that promote economic stability and improvement.
Accumulation of development momentum. The cultivation of new quality productivity and the dividend effect of reform continue to emerge. While the growth rate of some traditional industries and fields is slowing down, new momentum is accumulating, which is conducive to hedging downward pressure and enhancing upward momentum. The rapid development of domestic artificial intelligence models, the widespread application of artificial intelligence technology, and the digital economy leading the rapid development of new quality productivity; Deepening the construction of a unified national market will further stimulate economic vitality.
Strong development support. More proactive and effective macro policies will safeguard the smooth operation of the economy. In 2026, all parties will vigorously implement key engineering projects and form a strong force to promote development.
Recently, major international organizations have successively raised their expectations for China's economic growth, indicating that the international community is optimistic about the prospects of China's economic development. Kang Yi said that it is necessary to strengthen confidence, maintain determination, gather consensus, cultivate internal strength, strengthen innovation driven development, deepen reform and opening up, continue to strengthen the domestic circulation, promote the effective improvement of the economy in terms of quality and reasonable growth in terms of quantity, and strive to achieve a good start to the 15th Five Year Plan.