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Today

we are releasing the National Economic Data

for the first half of the year.

We are

happy to have with

us Mr.

Fu Lianhui,

Chief Executive Officer of

the Department of Commerce and Statistics of NBCS.

He will introduce the National Economic Performance of

the first

half of the year.

We will first give the floor to Mr. Fu Yangui. Thank you. It's a pleasure to attend this morning's

press briefing. First, I will brief you

on the basic data of the first half of the year's economic data and then answer your questions. In the first half of the year,

the international economy is returning. It's a

recovery with a good momentum. Faced with complex and great

international environments and arduous task to

reform, develop

and ensure stability at home, under the strong leadership of the CPC

Central Committee and Commerce and International Cooperation, all regional departments have implemented the decisions made by CPC Central Committee and the State

Council, adhered to the principle of making progress

for maintaining stability

fully and faithfully applying the new development

philosophy on our

fronts, accelerated efforts to

foster new development

paradigm, focus

on high-quality development, better balancing domestic international imperatives, COVID-19 response, and social economic development, and development security. And gave priority to ensuring stable growth, employment, and prices. As a result, the market demand gradually

recovered, production supply continued to increase,

employment and price

were generally stable, and

residency income grew steadily. National economy showed a good momentum of recovery.

According to Glimmer data, GDP in the first half year reached

59, 303.4

billion yuan, up

by 5.5% year-on-year

at constant price,

or 1 percentage point faster than Q1. The industry, the value added of The

primary industry was

3, 041.6

billion yuan up by

27%

year on year. The second industry was

23, 068.2

billion yuan up by

4.3%.

And tertiary industry was

33, 193.7 billion yuan up by 6.4%.

By quarter, GDP grew by

4.5%

year on year in the first quarter and 6.3% in

the second quarter. The GDP in the second quarter was up

by 0.8% quarter on quarter. First, agricultural production was stable and animal husbandry grew

steadily. In the first half year, value added of agriculture

witnessed a year-on-year increase of 3.3% summer grain had good harvest. The total output

of summer

grain was

146.13

million tons,

1.2%

less than previous

year, or down

by 0.9%, but still the second highest

in the history. In the first

half year,

the output of pork, beef, mutton and poultry was

46.82

million tons up by 3.6% year

on year. Of this total, the

output of

pork, beef, mutton and poultry was up by

3.2%, 4.5%, 5.1%,

and 4.3% respectively.

Output of milk was up by 7.5%, and

eggs grew

by 2.9%. At the end of

the second quarter, numbers of pigs registered in stalls was

435.17

million, up by 1.9% year on year. In the first half year,

there

were 375.48 million pigs slaughtered,

up by

2.6%.

Second, industrial production recovered gradually and equipment manufacturing

grew fast.

Total value added of industrial enterprises of about

3.8%

year on year in the first

quarter of the year, or 4.8% is growing faster

than the first quarter. In terms of sectors, mining increased by

1.7%

year on year, manufacturing increased by 4.2%, production

and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water increased by 4.1%, value added

of equipment manufacturing increased

by 6.5% and 2.7% points faster than the industrial prices,

which was about

10

times the size. By

types of ownership,

value added of state-owned company

is up by 4.4% a year. Shareholding enterprises are up by 4.4%. Enterprise is funded by foreign investors or investors from

Hong Kong, Macau, and

Taiwan. It was up by 0.8%. That of private enterprises up by

1.9%.

In terms of products, the products for the

production of solar cells

in new energy automobiles and industrial control

computers and systems were up by

50, 4.5%, 35%, 34.1%

respectively. In June, value added industrial enterprises Bob Designing decided to go by 4.4% a year or up by

0.68%.

In June, manufacturing PMIs to

49%

and production and operation expectation growth was

53.4%.

During service

sector, food fast and services involving contracts and gatherings improved significantly. In

the first half year, value added of services went up by

6.4%

year on year. 1% went faster than Q1. Specifically,

that of accommodation, catering, information transformation, software, information technology services, leasing and business services, financial intermediation and wholesale and

retail grew by

15.5%, 12.9%, 10.1%, 7.3%

and 6.6% respectively. In June, the index of service production increased by 6.8% year-on-year. The index of services production of accommodation and catering information transformation software information technology services and leasing and business services went up by

20%, 15.4%, 9.3%

respectively. In the first

5 months, the business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size grew by

8.5%

year on year. In June,

the business activity index for services stood at 52.8% and business activity expectation index was

60.3%.

Among which, the

business activity index for industries like air transportation, mail services, telecommunication, broadcast television, and transmission services, monetary and

financial services, but insurance

were within the high expansion range of 60% and more. For market

sales registered

good momentum and sales of operated

goods sped up.

In the first half

year, the total retail sales of

consumer goods reached

22, 758.8

billion yuan, up by 8.2% year-on-year,

2.4%

as compared to Q1. Analyzed by

Aries, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached

19, 753.2

billion

yuan, up by 8.1% year-on-year, and that in rural areas was 3, 056 billion yuan, up by

8.4%.

According to the consumer consumption patterns,

retail sales were good for

20, 325.9

billion yuan, up by 6.8%. Income

of catering was 2, 432.9 billion by

21.5%.

Good for

basic living, so stable growth. We

see retail sales of clothes,

shoes, hats, and textiles,

and of grain,

oil, and food by

enterprises by pricing them aside are by 12.8% and

4.8%

respectively. Sales

of upgraded goods go fast.

Retail sales of goods, silver, jewelry, and of sports and recreation goods and of cosmetics went up by

17.5%, 10.5%,

and

8.6%

respectively. The online

retail sales reached

7, 162.1

billion yuan,

up by

13.1%

year on year.

The online retail sales

of physical goods for

6, 000

and 62.3 billion yuan, up by 10.8%, accounting for

26.6%

of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

In the first half year, the investment in fixed

assets excluding room offers reached

24, 311.3

billion yuan, up by 3.8% year

on year.

Investment in

infrastructure grew by

7.2%,

manufacturing grew by 6%, and that

in real estate development dropped by

7.9%.

The first place of commercial buildings sold was

595.15

million square meters down

by 5.3%. The

total sales

of commercial buildings were

6, 309.2

billion up by

1.1%.

By industry, the

investment in the primary industry went up by 0.1%, that in secondary industry up by 1.6%, that in tertiary industry up by 1.6%. Poverty investment dropped by

0.2%.

Investment in

high-tech industry grew by

12.5%

of which investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 11.8% and

13.9%

respectively. In terms

of high-tech manufacturing, investment in manufacturing medical equipment measuring

equipment and electronic and communication equipment grew by 16.8% and

12.2%

respectively. In terms of high-tech services,

investment in professional

technical services and in service for transformation of technical science and technology investments grew by 51.6% and

46.3%

respectively. In June, investment in fixed assets excluding

rural households grew by 4.39% on

the month of June.

Sixth, import and export of goods maintained growth

and the trade structure continued to optimize. In the

first half year, the total value of imports and

exports was

20, 101.6

billion, and it was increased to

2.1

billion. The

total value of

exports was

11, 458

billion, up by 3.7%. 3.7%. Total

value of imports

8, 642.9

billion down by 0.1%. The trade balance was

2, 384.9

billion in surplus. Import and exports of general trade went up by 4% accounting for 64.5% of the total value of import and exports. 1.2% is higher than the same period last year. Import and export by prevalent prices grew by 8.9% accounting for

52.8%

of the total value of the import and export. 3.3% higher than the same period

last year. In Paris,

imports and exports with countries on the Belt

and Road

grew by 9.8%. In June, the total value of the imports and exports was

3, 488.3 billion yuan down by 6%

year on year. The total value of exports was

1, 989.8 billion yuan down by 0.3%. 7,

Consumption price rose year

on year and consumer price for

industrial products dropped year on year. In the first half year, the consumer price index, CPI, rose by 0.7% year-on-year. Group by commodity categories prices for food, tobacco, and alcohol went up by 2.1%. Clothing up by 0.8%. Housing down by

0.2%.

Articles and services for daily use up by

0.5%.

Transportation and communication down by

2.3%.

Education, culture,

and recreation up by 1.7 percent, medical services and health care up by 1 percent, other articles and services up by

2.9

percent. In terms of food, tobacco and alcohol

prices, the price for fresh food

went up by 7.9%, pork

up by 3.2%, grain up by 1.6%, and fresh vegetable down by

2.7%.

The core CPI, excluding the price of food and energy, grew by 0.7% year

on year. In June,

CPI maintained the same level last year and down by 0.2% month on month. In the first half year, the producer prices for industrial products went down by 3.1% year

on year. Specifically, the prices

in June dropped by 5.4% year on year or down by 0.8% month on month. In the first half year the purchasing prices for industrial producers went down by

3%

year on year.

Specifically, in June the prices dropped by 6.5% year on year or down by 1.1% month on month. 8, employment was generally stable and servant unemployment rate in urban areas declined. In the first half year, urban surveyed unemployment rate averaged 5.3% down by 0.2 percentage points over

the course of June.

In June, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 5.2%, the same as

last year.

The surveyed unemployment rate of people with

local household registration was 5.1% and

those with non-local household registration was 5.3%, of

which the

rate of population with non-local agricultural household registration surpassed 4.9%. The survey unemployment rates of population aged from

16

to 24 and from 25 to 59 was 21.3% and 4.1% respectively. Among the population aged from 24, 25 to 59, the surveyed unemployment rates of population

with junior

high education or below, with senior high education, with junior college education, and with university education or above, were

44.4%, 4.4%, 3.9%,

and 3.2% respectively. Urban unemployment rate in 31 major cities was

5.5%,

same of the previous month. Employments of underprivileged worked 48.7 per week on average by the end of Q2, the number of rural migrant workers totaled

187.5

million by 3.2% year-on-year. Now, residents'

income increased

steadily, and income

growth of rural residents faster than

that of urban residents. In the first half year, the nationwide per capita disposable income of

residents was

19, 670.

The nominal growth was 6.5% year

on year.

1.4%

was faster than the

first quarter. Rural growth was

5.8%

after deducting price factor,

2.7%.

In terms of permanent residence, the per capita disposable income of urban households was

26, 357

yuan, a nominal growth

of 5.4% per year on year, and a real growth of 4.7%. Per capita

disposable income of rural households was

10, 581

yuan, a nominal growth of 7.8% year on year

and a real growth of

7.2%.

In terms of income sources, nationwide per capita salary income, net business income,

net property income, and net income from

transfers grew by

6.8%, 7%, 4.7%,

and 6.1% nominal terms.

The median of the nationwide

per capita disposable income of residents was

16, 394

with a nominal growth of

5.4%

year on year. Generally speaking, the first half year of social economic development has returned to normal and macro policy manifesting effects. National economy showed a good momentum with high-growth

development in the American structure. But we

need to see that international political and economic situation is complicated. The foundation for sustained economic recovery

is not a solid executive. At the next stage,

we must follow the guide in the CPPCC. Xi Jinping's thought on socialism

with Chinese characteristics for a new era

adhered to the general principle

of pursuing progress or maintaining stability, fully

and faithfully applied a new

development philosophy, focused on the top task of

high-quality development and strategic

tasks of creating a new pattern of

growth, deepening the employment opening up, accelerating modernization of industrial system, promote smooth economic growth, and make more efforts to change growth model, improve economic structure, and gather new momentum

for growth so

as to achieve excessive enhancement of quality

and quantity economy.

Thank you

for your briefing. Now we will answer questions. Before you raise your question, please identify your media affiliation.

Thank

you for your question. From the data just released in Q2, economic recovery

is advancing smoothly.

And what is your assessment of the economic situation in the first half year, and what are the features?

Thank you.

Since this year, China's economy and society is going back to normal and recovering, and the policy stabilizing growth, employment, and prices are delivering. The market demand is recovering, and production and supply has been increasing steadily. Employment has maintained stable, and people's well-being has been safeguarded, and development quality has been improved, and the national economy is recovering, going back to normal. First of all, economic growth has rebounded. In the first half, the GDP grew by 5.5%, which is significantly higher than the 3% growth last year and the 4.5% growth in Q1.

Since this year the global economy is seeing a sluggish recovery with a high level of Inflation and the tightening monetary policy of major economies are delivering spillover effects against such a complicated external environment. China's growth is significantly faster than major developed economies, which shows

the strong resilience of China's economy.

Secondly, domestic demand has been expanded. Our policies and measures have been releasing the potential

of domestic demand,

driving economic growth. In the first half, The retail sales of consumer goods increased by

8.2%

year on year, which is a rapid growth and contributed

77.2%

to economic growth, significantly higher than last year. Investment has maintained growth and rapid growth, both seen in key industries and sectors, and it has helped us improve supply-side structure. The fixed assets investment grew by 3.8 percent, and 7.2 percent and 6 percent growth was seen in investment in infrastructure and manufacturing. Third, industrial development has been consolidated with a series of policies for ensuring agricultural stability and growth in output and promoting real economy development. We have seen a more solid development foundation.

Agriculture production has maintained stable. We have had a harvest in summer grain and vegetables and fruits, and poultry, eggs, and milk have ample supply. In the first half, the output of pork, beef, mutton, and poultry grew by

3.6%.

Industrial production also recovered. The value added of industries above designated level grew by

3.8%.

In the first half of this year, 0.8 percentage points faster than Q1. Service sector has also seen rapid growth of

6.4%,

with many of the sectors involving gatherings and contacts growing rapidly. And fourth, we have seen better structure, and service industries value-added accounts for

56%

of the whole GDP. And the equipment manufacturing value added has accounted for

32.3%

of industrial value added above designated level 1.4 percentage points higher than the same period last year. We have seen an improved consumption and investment structure. The consumption in upgraded commodities And the retail sales of such products have been increased by 17.5% and 10.5% respectively. And the investment in high-tech industry increased by

12.5%.

And number 5, We have seen stronger momentum of growth in innovation with growth in new industries. For example, such as aviation and aerospace industry grew by

22.9

percent, and information transmission and the software and information technology grew by

12.9%,

and new formalities of business are growing rapidly. We're seeing that the retail sales of physical goods grew by 10.8% year

on year,

and employment is also recovering. And the surveyed unemployment of urban areas was 5.3% for the first half of this year, and it went down since the beginning of this year. The per capita disposable income of our residents had an increase of

5.8%

of real growth, significantly faster than last year. The gap between urban and rural residents' income was narrowed. The ratio was down by

0.05

compared with last year. We have seen a generally good momentum of recovery and a solid progress in transformation. But we are seeing that we're still facing challenges in terms of sluggish global growth and a lack of domestic demand. And we will continue to implement the decision of the Party Central Committee and pursue progress while maintaining

stability. We will

focus on high-quality development and implement our macro policies, release domestic demand, deepen reform and opening

up, and

push our economy for a general recovery and for an effective improvement of quality and reasonable growth in quantity.

Thank you. Quantity. Thank you.

In 2023, the Q2's economic recovery was quite rapid compared with last year, but we are faced with complicated international circumstances. What will be the prospect for the second half? Will the

5%

target be met?

Thank you for your question. In the first half year, China's economy is recovering with good momentum. With the social economy returning to normal, main indicators are overall improving. New drivers are being fostered and with high quality being fostered. People's livelihood are increasing, are being improved, and has laid a good foundation for hitting our target for the

whole year.

Going forward, despite complicated external environment and pressure

for domestic economic growth,

but the basic fundamentals for our economy for the long term has

not changed.

The features of being very resilient, having huge potential,

and vitality has not changed.

With more positive factors accumulating in development, we have

the positive

prospect of continuing

to recover. First, the driving force of consumption continues to strengthen.

Since the start of this year, parties have actively resumed and expanded

their consumption.

Its potential is gradually unleashed and made a foundation for economic recovery. In the first half year, the final consumption expenditure contribution to economic growth was

77.2%,

significantly higher than last year. In the next stage,

the employment situation will continue to improve. People's

income will increase.

This will contribute to the increase of people's intention

and willingness to spend.

At the same

time, new energy vehicle sales, the sales of green and smart appliance will also have more supportive policies, which will expand consumption and promote economic growth. Second, the service sector is recovering with a good momentum. With social economy resuming to normal, Service sector

is growing

rapidly. And

wholesale and

retail accommodation and catering and transportation and other service models are increasing rapidly, contributing to economic growth. In the first half

of the

year, service sector's contribution to economic growth was over

60%.

Going forward, the services of cultural tourism and sports will further increase. And also, the service demand for R&D for exhibition will also increase. This will boost service in the sector and stabilize the economy. In June, the business activity index for services was lifted

2.8%.

And it has maintained in a high expansion rate for 6 consecutive months. Third, new drivers continue to

be fostered. We are

implementing the innovation-driven development strategy and enhancing our strategic technology capacity. Applications of modern ICT, AI, and magnetic data are

being applied.

Innovation results are cropping up. New products and new industries are coming into the picture. Since the start of this year, we have seen the commercial debut

of C919

large plane. And also the first 16-megawatt offshore wind power unit was being installed, and we are seeing high-quality development in science and technology. In the first half year, the smart consumption equipment manufacturing increased by 12 percent, semiconductor parts manufacturing increased by 30.9 percent, aerospace aluminum industrial

And aerospace aluminum

industrial and other New materials and smart products are also increasing rapidly. For example, aerospace, aluminum, industrial control, computer and system, and their production increased by 23.3% and 34.1%. Going forward, the innovation will have greater driving

force and injecting new impetus to economic development. Fourth, the effects of green

transition is showing. New energy and green development is stepping up.

Green lifestyle is being in

the making. Green transition and economic growth are

coordinating with good results. In the first half year,

new energy vehicle, solar cells, and charging points and other new energy products increased by

35%, 54.5%, 53.1%.

Lithium battery solar cells and EV vehicles export increase by 61.6 percent. Going forward, we have good driving force for green

development, and

it will continue to assist with the positioning of economic growth drivers. We also need to see that countries, departments and regions are committed to

high-quality development

and macro policies are targeted and providing good foundations for expanding domestic demand and channeling the economic cycling, providing good foundations for economic stabilizing

and operation.

On the whole, since the start of this year, our economy is shaking off the impact of the pandemic and returning to normal. Generally speaking, although we face difficulties and pressure, we are seeing improvement in employment, in residence income and domestic demand. Our structure will continue to optimize and new drivers will continue to grow. The economy will be stabilized. So we have the capacity to realize our whole-year target.

Thank you. Good morning. A question from Reuters. On the second quarter GDP growth, was it faster or slower than the National Bureau of Statistics' expectations? And which areas affect this outcome most?

Thank you. Will come most. Thank you.

Thank you for your question. As for Q2's economic growth, and since this year we are seeing a recovery to the normal track. We have had a good start in Q1, and we have maintained the momentum of recovery in Q2. Generally speaking, in the first half, the Chinese economy has had a momentum of recovery. Compared with other major economies, after the transition of pandemic,

we have seen a

more rapid growth in different economies, but different countries are in various development stages and they face different environment. And so they are different, quite different

in terms

of the speed of growth. Since our economy went back to normal and now the consumption and service sector is going back rapidly in contributing to economic growth and industrial production has also maintained stability providing a strong underpinning and generally speaking, we're shaking off the impact of COVID-19 and recovering. We have had a 5.5% growth in the first half, and in Q2 we had

6.3%.

And the 5.5% is much higher than 3% last year. And the

4.5%

we have had in the past 3 years average, and we have maintained relatively rapid growth in Q2. And the growth of 5.5 percent, it is a rapid

growth in

the world, And we're seeing sluggish growth in major economies.

And the Chinese

economy's rapid growth provides an important underpinning for

global growth.

And recently, major international organizations have raised their estimation of global growth. An important factor is China's recovery. According to data that has been released in Q1, the United States, the Eurozone, Japan, and Brazil grew by

1.8

percent, 1 percent, 1.9 percent, and 4 percent. Even considering the changes in Q2, generally speaking, for the first half of this year, China's economy grew fastest among major economies. Second, this growth features a better structure and stronger driving forces. From last year's investment and export-driven growth, we have achieved consumption and investment-driven growth. Consumption is contributing much more to economic growth.

As I have mentioned, the final consumption expenditure contributed 77.2% to economic growth in the first half of this year. From production, it has shifted from industry-driven to services and industry-driven, with a much higher contribution of service sector of 66.1 per cent,

actually.

And third, this growth features a stronger driving force of innovation and a transition in development model. It has underpinned high-quality development. The high-tech industry investment grew by

12.5%,

with information transmission software and information technology services grew by

12.9%,

while retail sales online and physical goods grew by

10.8%.

Green transition has delivered good results. As for our data for the first half of this year, the amount of sound quality water sections has increased by 2.1 percentage points compared with the same period

last year.

And new energy

vehicle solar cells output increased by 35 per cent and 54.5 per cent respectively, and energy consumption efficiency has been enhanced. In the first half of this year, energy consumption per unit of GDP decreased by

0.4

per cent. And this growth features expanded opening up and better

trade structure.

China has been actively expanding high-level opening up with better trade structure based on mutual benefit. In the first half of the

year, the

imports and exports grew by

2.1%

year on year. The general trade accounts for

65.5%

of the total, and our trade is further diversified. Our imports and exports with Belt and Road partners increased by 9.8% and that with Latin American Africa grew by 7% and

10.5%.

And cross-border e-commerce has

also developed rapidly.

And fifth, this growth features expanded employment and better livelihoods for our people. Our urban surveyed unemployment rate was decreased to

5.2%

in June, which is close to what we had before the pandemic. And residents' per capita disposable income grew by

5.8%.

This also

increased people's willingness to consume. The consumption expenditure grew by 7.6% in the first half of the year.

And sixth,

this growth features a stronger safeguard in terms of food and energy security. All stakeholders have shouldered their responsibilities. Despite heavy rain before harvest, We have achieved the second highest harvest in history, and we have a stronger safeguard in energy supply.

Primary energy

output increased by 2.7 percent year-on-year, with crude coal, oil, and natural gas increasing at

4.4%, 2.1%,

and 5.4% respectively, meeting people's needs for production and daily life. Thank you. CPI maintained at the same level while PPI was down by 5.4%. Does that mean deflation is coming? What is your assessment on the prices now?

Thank you.

Thank you for your question. Prices are of concern to many people. There have been some discussion in the society on the possibility of deflation. It is a topic that I have touched upon in previous press briefings. Generally speaking, there is no deflation in the Chinese society and there won't be 1 in the future.

Although price is temporarily operating at a low level, but if we look at monetary supply and economic growth and other indicators, China's economy will not have a deflation because it does not meet with relevant conditions. In the first half of this year, because of global sluggish recovery, international low price lead to the low price

in China.

And due to many other factors, China's general CPI gradually saw

a slight drop.

There are 4 features. First is the price of food is growing at a lower level. The price of vegetables and food increased by

6.9% and 6.4%.

The general increase of pork in the first

half of the year was here at

0.2%.

Energy price decreased by

3.5%.

Diesel and gasoline reduced by 8 percent and 7.3 percent respectively. Service products prices increased by 0.9% in the first half, 0.1% higher than Q1. And then core CPIs

maintain stability. Core CPI

in the first quarter increased by 0.7 percent year-on-year, 0.1 percent lower than Q1. In June, CPI was on par with last month, and this has garnered social attention. Generally speaking, CPI's operating at

a relatively low level

is a result of many factors, domestic and international. Since the start of this year, our economy is returning back to normal. Market demand is gradually improving, and With the increasing supply, the economy has a good momentum of recovery.

During the

pandemic, we had policies to support companies and relieve

their difficulties. This has made good results.

Therefore, as a result, the supply of the market is increasing and we are seeing improvement in employment as well. This employment also shows that the supply is improving. Due to pandemic, back in the pandemic years, the production was impacted by the COVID, so it takes time for them to recover. And that, to some extent, contributed to the current

low level of CPI growth.

There are also factors, international factors, and also the factors that last year's base was relatively high. And they are important factors that

led to

the low CPI growth. Going forward With economy recovering

and

the economy's operation being more smooth, we will see an improvement of CPI. Food production is stable. That is

conducive to

food prices being stable

as well.

And the seasonal increase in the demand for pork

will also be

contributive. Also in the future, the impact of low international energy prices will also have an impact. As for service prices, the services need will continue to expand and the price will grow in a steady manner. In the second quarter, the service price increased by 0.9%, higher than Q1. We are seeing a diminishing impact of the high base of last year's data.

Thank you.

Good morning. Market News International. Thank you. Next, the fifth row, the foreign reporter. Declined.

With the continuous relaxation of real estate policies, what is the trend of real estate investments in the second half of the year? Thank you.

Thank you for your question. The real estate market is

a

concern for many people, and we have supported people's needs, reasonable needs in terms of basic and improvement housing, and we have ensured stability of the real estate market. In Q1, we have seen the demand released, improving the real estate market in Q2, and the market has gradually gone back to normal operation and stability was maintained in the first half of this year. In terms of major indices, the sales and development and investment indices have improved compared with last year. In the first half of this year, the space sold was down by 5.3 percent, and the total sales turned from drop to growth. Turned from drop to growth.

The investment, we

have seen the drop decreased compared with last year. As our economy recovers and our policy delivers results, greater stability will be restored in the real estate market. Under the current policy, speculation

has been

gradually curbed. Reasonable demand

has been

gradually released, driving development of the market. High leverage, high debt burden model of some real estate entities cannot continue, and the supply is going through an adjustment, and market supply will be stabilised. From a medium-to-long-term perspective, the market will turn into a stable development model. This is decided by demand and supply. Going forward, we will continue to ensure that houses are for living, not for speculation, and we will implement current policies and install long-term mechanisms to support people's long-term mechanisms to support people's needs and regulate the development of real estate

market.

As for

investment in real estate, The newly launched construction space is going down, and the investment will continue to run at a low level,

But the

investment will go back to a reasonable level. We have noticed that accommodation and catering and other service industries have seen rapid growth. What is the reason behind that and What is the trend going forward?

Thank you for your question. Generally speaking, the growth of service sector is 1 of the highlights of economic growth. Since the start of this year, with the economy going into normal stage and the policy's effects are showing, Service industries are returning back to normal in a faster pace. We're seeing a growth of new drivers and the expectation of businesses are generally stable. Services increased by 6.4%, significantly higher than

last year.

Services with contacts and gathering needs increased. People's need for going out and dining out increases. In the first half of this year, accommodation, catering, warehouse, and other industries grew by

6.5%

and 6.9% respectively, maintaining a high level of growth. Second, modern services are speeding up. Digital demand is increasing, driving

industrial growth.

ICT and telecommunication increase. Telecommunication increased by

19.9%.

Tourism also maintained rapid

growth, commercial

lending increased by

11.9%

year-on-year. Third, new drivers are growing. On high-tech industries are developing, high-tech services incomes increased by

11.9%.

High-tech services fixed asset investment increased by 13.9% year-on-year. Fourth, expectation of service industries continued to stabilize. From market expectation, The expectation in June was

60.3%

or 0.2% higher than last year, maintaining a high expectation range. And that shows that the service businesses are having more confidence in the market. The fast recovery of service industries has created good conditions for the resumption

of the

economy growth. It also helps the economy's growth in many sectors.

Since the

start of this year, we're seeing a fast growth

of people's

dining out, going out, and going to the movies, et cetera. And we're also seeing a

new business forms and new industries. Technology

are driving more economic growth. Online and offline formats are becoming more popular, and these all have added new driving force for services. The general recovery in service sector is conducive to people's well-being and employment, promoting stable growth. Going forward with the unleashing of potential service industry has a good prospect. First, when is the employment in the first half of the year?

Can we hit the target of increasing employment for the whole year? And is there an improvement in young people's employment since this is the graduation season? Thank you for your question. We cared about employment.

As our economy recovers, the employment has been improved. Specifically, The workforce market has seen stronger vitality. We have created more

jobs.

We have created 6.78 million urban jobs, and the participation rate of workforce has been increased. In June, the number

of people employed

in urban areas increased compared with the same period last year, and more jobs were created in accommodation and catering and transportation and

other sectors.

In June, the

urban surveyed unemployment rate was

5.2%.

The major workforce has a low level of unemployment rate. Between 25 and

59,

the age of

59,

the unemployment rate is lower than that before the pandemic. As for migrant workers, their employment has been improved. In June, the unemployment rate for this group was

4.9%,

a relatively low level. A relatively low level. In Q2, the total number of migrant workers increased by 3.2% year-on-year. They have stronger willingness to find jobs in the market. Our economic growth of 5.5 percent was faster than last year, and this means that companies will create more jobs and delivering better employment situation.

The service sector also contributed a lot by creating a large amount of jobs. Transportation, accommodation and catering, and tourism and other sectors involving contacts are recovering significantly, creating many jobs. And the policies, our employment policies are delivering results. Departments and localities are implementing these policies to stabilising employment and help companies to retain and create more jobs and give more trainings

for employees.

Offline employment activities are held to match the needs. And we're seeing that we're still facing challenges and problems in terms of structure and the total quantity. We're seeing both difficulties in finding jobs and recruiting people. Employment is very important for young people's growth and future of the country. The Party Central Committee attaches great importance to that and has

prioritized employment of young

people and university graduates, and instructed departments to roll out a series of measures and policies and implement these policies to help their employment. Their employment. Going forward, we're seeing a promising prospect for a stable employment. And as more young people find jobs, the unemployment rate for young people will continue to decrease. Thank you.

From CNBC, my first question is about young people's unemployment. Will it decrease in the second half of the year? As for fixed assets, the investment in real estate has decreased at a faster speed. What will its impact be on the growth of real estate market? And in the first half of this year, what is the sales of streaming?

What is the

–

of live streaming sales? The sales of streamlines, of live streaming sales? Thank you

for your question.

Now,

judging from history, the unemployment rate in graduate seasons will likely increase. In June, we have 21.3% of unemployment rate for young people slightly higher than last month. Since this year we are likely to see more young people entering into the market and graduating, it is likely to increase. But with the passing of graduate season, we will likely see a decrease in unemployment rates of young people

after August.

And your second question is on the real estate market. And in my previous answers, I mentioned that overall, the real estate market is in adjustment. But compared to last year, the situation is stabilizing. Both in terms of sales and capital of businesses, there are improvements compared to last year.

And going forward,

with adjustments being put in place in the real estate market, it will continue to stabilize, And investment will gradually return back to a level of improvement. And then on live streaming,

I

don't have the data with me at the moment, but after the press briefing, feel free to contact our office for more information.

Our office

for more information. Thank you. My question

is, what

is your opinion on the domestic consumption market for the first half of the year and what is consumption's driving force for the economy? What is your assessment of its prospects in the next half of the year?

In the first half of this year, consumption

has seen

a sound momentum of recovery.

As our

economy recovers and more consumption scenarios are delivered, consumption has been expanded and market sales are growing at a faster speed. The social retail sales grew by 8.2% year

on year. As for per capita consumption

expenditure had a nominal 8.4% growth year-on-year,

5.9

percentage points higher than last year. It has several features. Consumption in services grew rapidly. As people's consumption in accommodation, catering, and transportation recovers. The per capita service consumption expenditure grew significantly faster than general consumption, among which 12.9% growth was seen in transportation consumption.

In passenger, volume increased by

5.6.3%.

In the Dragon Boat Festival, The revenue for tourism increased by

44.5%,

upgraded commodities sales grew rapidly,

and commodities

Consumption has also been expanded, especially those that meet people's needs for a better life.

80%

of categories of commodities sales saw increase. Commodities sales so increase. We have seen

17.5%

in terms of products such as silver and golden jewelry and passenger vehicles consumption grew by 6.8% year on year. Green consumption, digital consumption

has been expanded.

With the change in people's

consumption concepts and our policies,

the new energy vehicles

sold reached over 3 million. Low energy consumption household appliances grew by over 20% year on year. According to Big Data, in consumption festival, smart household appliances grew rapidly.

As live

streaming and other new forms of businesses grew, online retail sales grew rapidly by 10.8% year

on year.

Fourth, Cultural and recreational consumption grew rapidly, especially in rural areas. Sports events are coming back, as well as shows and performances. People's expenditure in this area grew by

38.5%

year on year. The film box office grew by

52.9%,

with the number of audience increased by

51.8%.

Rural revitalization has supported stronger consumption growth. Rural consumption grew by

8.4%,

faster than that of urban areas. Cosmetics and gold and silver and jewelry consumption in rural areas also grew rapidly. E-commerce in rural areas are developing rapidly, faster than the general

level. Generally speaking, consumption

demand has been released in the first half of this year, promoting economic growth and improving people's well-being. From the whole year's perspective,

we will continue to see consumption further released,

and China

is now

in a stage

of rapid growth of consumption with new type of urbanization and better infrastructure for consumption. This can help us release

the demand. And

the people have stronger capacity to consume with better employment

and higher income. People have

stronger capability and willingness to consume. And number 3, we have

a better environment for people

to consume. We have more consumption scenarios now as our economy recovers, providing stronger vitality for the recovery of consumption. We have rolled out a series of policies to promote consumption,

to boost consumption confidence.

Green consumption and

smart product consumption will boost consumption as well.

Going forward, we will further boost consumption by increasing people's income, giving people a better employment, improve the supply, and nurture new types of consumption for a sustained and sound development of consumption.

Thank you.

MODERATOR

Global Times, we have noted

that in this year, the

growth of investment has slowed down. What is the reason behind that? And what is your assessment on the investment data in the first half of this year and what will it look like going forward? Thank you. Thank you

for your question. Investment is also important for expanding domestic demand. Impacted by the relative market, investment in fixed assets

slowed down. But we have been

acting to implement the decisions made by CBC, Central Committee, and the State Council and have maintained a growth in investment. Investment key factors are strengthening. Investment infrastructure is growing fast. We're promoting investment in

litigation and other key infrastructure projects.

72%

increase was saw in the first half of the year.

And investment in real infrastructure and infrastructure was 20.5% and

9.6%.

In the

first half of the year, new and infrastructure investment increased by 5.2 percent. And investment in integrated infrastructure was

2.5, 4.1 2.4.1%.

Second, investment in manufacturing increased. Investment in technology intensive industry increased

rapidly. Manufacturing

investment increased by

14.4%,

supporting the investment. There has been transition towards green development.

Investment in

batteries increased rapidly.

Investment

in mechanical sectors increased rapidly. Third, Innovation-driven investment increased. Technology and innovation had a good supporting effect for investment. Businesses have more demand for technologies. This is also boosted investment.

Expertise services and transfer services investment increased by

51.6%

and

46.3%.

With the digitalization going forward, we're seeing faster investment in digitalization. Digital service investment increased by

22.2%.

Green development of agriculture have also sped up. The first half year investment in green battery increased by

42.4%.

Wind power increased by

16%.

All these have shown that

despite multiple factors, investment increase is slowing down, but The structure of investment is becoming more optimized

and it will further economic growth. Going forward, we will continue to let government policies

take more effect and optimize investment structure and advance high-quality economic growth. And advanced high-quality economic growth.

This year we are having our fifth

National Economic Consensus. Can you brief us on

the work? Thank you.

Thank you for your attention on the Economic Census. The fifth National Economic Consensus is launched as we start on the new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects. On 7th July, we have had the first plenary session of the leadership group for the census, And we have made deployment on the census and mobilized relevant stakeholders, localities and departments to work closely together to move ahead with the census. Going forward, the key task for census is to get the basic status

on all

the legal persons and those involved in tertiary industries and to try to identify which entities are included in this census, and to make sure that stakeholders know their responsibilities, and that there is no overlap or entities that are not covered. This is a very important basic work we need to do to ensure the accuracy of the census. We will forge a list of entities for samples and also the categories of forms that entities need to fill in. This survey covers all the individual businesses involved in all sectors. At the

county level, the

investigators will visit relevant entities to ask them to fill in forms.

We will train our employees

to go through all the key links, including data review. It will last from June to December, And those with certificates will visit relevant entities to gather information and data. We would like to request for your support

to prepare for relevant certificates and provide relevant information accurately that will

only be used for the census.

We will ensure that the information remains in strict

confidentiality. We thank your support for the census. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Despite contracting external demand, the imports and exports still hit a record high. What is the reason behind that? And what is the estimation for foreign trade in the second half of the year?

Thank you for your question. This is a question

of wide concern as well.

Global economy is recovering sluggishly and major economies are tightening their monetary policies. And the global PMI for export and import maintain at a low level. So this will have some impact on China's import and export. But the features of

high resilience and capacity

of China's import and export is unchanged. In the first half, our export-import exceeded 20 trillion, a record high. Export increased by

3.7%.

Its share in global export maintains stability. Going forward, despite pressure, our foreign trade will also have the prospect

of

maintaining stability and

improving quality.

First reason is that we have a fully-fledged industrial system

in China.

So the industrial foundation is well-made for China's import and export. Electrical equipment's import-export increased by

6.3

percent year

on year.

Second, policy effects are showing

we are committed to reform and opening up and facilitate trade with

all countries

and the building of FCAs

and expanding of the space of foreign trade or

export and import increase by 9.8% with the Belt and Road countries. Third, new driving force

of import

and export continue to emerge. The competitiveness of our products

increased In the first

half of the

year, NUV

solar cells

export increased by

over 60%. And they have also provided

good foundation for our

increasing export. Policies to stabilize growth and optimizing structure is also showing

effect. In

the first half of the year, we're seeing the import of private enterprises increase by 8.9% year on year, providing a good support for stabilizing foreign trade. So generally speaking,

we're facing pressures, but there are also good conditions.

We need to continue to implement our foreign trade policies and hit our target of stabilizing growth and improving quality. In the interest of time, we'll have 2 more questions, please.

My question is about wages. So wage growth was about

5.8%,

I think, which is slightly faster than GDP, but it's still not back to the pre-pandemic levels of above 8% expansion. How will that affect the sustainability of any consumption recovery? And how do you expect that consumption will grow faster than GDP when wages are basically only growing as fast as GDP? Thank you.

Please translate. Question from Bloomberg News. The salary growth rate in the first half of the year was 5.8%, just above GDP growth rate, but it did not recover to the 8% high level before the epidemic. In this situation, the salary growth has not yet reached consumption growth. How can we expect consumption growth rate to be greater than GDP growth rate?

Thank you for the question. As for wage growth, I think you mean the increase of residence income. We had a 5.8 percent increase in that. It is a relatively rapid growth. Before the pandemic, you mentioned the nominal growth.

The 8% was nominal growth, not the real growth. As for this year, as the Chinese economy is shaking off the impact of COVID-19 and experienced recovery, employment has expanded and people's income is increasing. In the first half of this year, the per capita disposable income increased by

5.8%

This drives the growth of consumption. As the total economic circulation continue to be smoothened, going forward, this underpinning or driving force for consumption will continue to grow. The consumption contribution reached

77.2%

to economic growth.

We will see a stronger driving force by consumption for economic growth. China's consumption is being upgraded and expanded. We will expand consumption by providing a better environment to further drive economic growth. Thank you.

The paper

in the first half of this year, the profit of industrial enterprises has

seen a

double-digit decrease. How will this trend be changed, and what will it look like in the second half of this year?

The industrial operation is generally recovering And it has a close relation with the profits of businesses. With the market demand recovering and the policies to upgrade the economy showing and the growing growth drivers, we are seeing good results. First, the profit, the output of businesses above designated size increased by 3.8% year to year. Among the 620 main industrial products being surveyed,

331

products registered growth. Second, industrial is being upgraded. There is more technology intensive operations. Its contribution to

overall industrial growth was over

50%.

Third, high-end manufacturing is increasing rapidly. With the CE919 commercial flight Having its debut, we are seeing a good

prospect in that sector. We have made

breakthroughs in key technologies, such as semiconductor and specialized mechanical engineers, parts have also seen increase in their production. Fourth, we are seeing

progress in clean transitioning.

New energy vehicles sector is increasing. It has increased by over 30% in the first half of the year. The production of solar cells and electric batteries also increased rapidly. Clean energy production also decreased.

Clean energy production also decreased.

Fifth, Smart and new energies are increasing.

And smart

and consumption-oriented products are increasing

in their sales.

Are used equipment increased by

12%.

In the first half of the year, the silicon

and Glass used

in different industries

increased by over

80%.

So this has laid a good

foundation for the increase

of profits for businesses in the industrial sector. We're seeing the profits in equipment continue to recover.

In the

first 5 months, the

policies in this respect

are showing

and the drop in the profits decreased. In May, the profit in manufacturing increased by

15.2%.

The profits in electricity and water

industry increased fast. The first

5 months, the supply of these resources increased by

13.8%, 1.7%

higher than Q1, continue to drive profits. At the current

stage, the quality

in the industry is continuing to improve. Going forward,

with more

new drivers coming into the picture, with more policies taking effect, the foundations for industrial recovery will be more stable, and we will have a greater prospect in industrial profits. Thank

you you you