Zhou Jianshe:

Thank you, Mr. Fu. The floor is now open for questions. Please identify the media outlet you represent before raising your questions.

National Business Daily:

Based on the data just released, how would you evaluate the economic performance in October? What were the highlights and positive changes? Thank you.

Fu Linghui:

Thank you for your questions. In October, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee, all regions and departments earnestly implemented the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. We focused on stabilizing employment, enterprise operations, markets and expectations, and boosted domestic and international economic flows while strengthening the domestic economy. By doing so, the national economy has maintained a development trend of steady progress, with production and demand growing steadily, employment and prices remaining generally stable, and transformation and upgrading proceeding. The main highlights are as follows.

First, production supply continued to grow. Agricultural production was in good shape. The area of autumn grain production remained stable with a slight increase, and the per-unit yield continued to rise. A bumper grain harvest for the whole year is in sight, with autumn and winter sowing proceeding smoothly. Industrial production was generally stable. In October, the added value of industries above designated size increased 4.9% year on year, maintaining an overall stable growth. The added value of equipment manufacturing rose 8%, significantly faster than the growth of industries above designated size, providing solid support for its growth. The service industries grew steadily. In October, the service production index increased 4.6% year on year. The growth rate fell slightly from the previous month mainly due to the elevated base in the same period last year. Based on the two-year average and cumulative growth rates, service sector continued to grow steadily. The overlap of the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays in October accelerated the growth of the service industry. The production index of the accommodation and catering sectors rose 3.9% year on year, 2.6 percentage points higher than the growth rate of September.

Second, market sales continued to expand. The special campaign to boost consumption gradually showed results, and the holiday economy became a significant driving force, leading a sustained growth in retail sales of goods and services. In October, the total retail sales of consumer goods went up 2.9% year on year, with rapid growth in sales of goods related to the trade-in program. In terms of commodities by enterprises above designated size, the retail sales of communication equipment and cultural and office supplies rose 23.2% and 13.5%, respectively. Fueled by increased resident holiday travel, service consumption such as tourism and cultural activities expanded. From January to October, retail sales by the service industry grew 5.3% year on year, which was faster than the growth rate of goods retail sales.

Third, the employment situation is generally stable. The surveyed urban unemployment rate has continued to fall, with the national surveyed urban unemployment rate standing at 5.1%, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, marking the second consecutive monthly decline. Of this, the urban surveyed unemployment rate for migrant workers with rural household registration was 4.5%, down 0.2 percentage point from the previous month, significantly lower than the national average. Despite deepening adverse external impacts and many challenges in economic operations, China's employment situation has remained generally stable, with continued improvement in employment for key groups, playing an important role in protecting livelihoods and promoting development.

Fourth, prices have shown positive momentum. The CPI shifted from a decline to an increase, rising 0.2% year on year in October, compared with a 0.3% decline last month. Of this, the core CPI, excluding food and energy, rose 1.2% year on year, with the increase expanding 0.2 percentage point from the previous month, marking six consecutive months of expanding growth. The decline in the PPI has continued to narrow. In October, the PPI fell 2.1% year on year, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the previous month, representing the third consecutive month of narrowing. Efforts to regulate market competition order are beginning to show results. In October, prices in industries such as lithium-ion battery manufacturing, photovoltaic equipment and component manufacturing rose 0.2% and 0.6% month on month, respectively.

Fifth, the momentum of transformation and upgrading continues. High-tech manufacturing has maintained solid growth. In October, the value added of high-tech manufacturing enterprises above designated size increased 7.2% year on year, continuing to outpace the growth of industrial enterprises above designated size. In terms of exports, the export value of high-tech products increased 7.3% over the first 10 months. The modern service industry has also developed well. In October, the Index of Services Production of information transmission, software and information technology services, as well as rental and business services, increased 13% and 8.2% year on year, respectively, continuing to maintain rapid growth. The integration of the digital and real economies has steadily advanced. In October, the value added of digital product manufacturing enterprises above designated size increased 6.7% year on year. From January to October, online retail sales of physical goods rose 6.3%. The green transformation has begun to take effect. In October, the output of green products such as new energy vehicles and lithium-ion power batteries for automobiles increased 19.3% and 30.4%, respectively.

However, it should also be noted that the international environment remains complex and severe, with many unstable and uncertain factors. Domestically, cyclical and structural issues are intertwined, and the economy still faces many challenges. Moving forward, we will thoroughly study and implement the guiding principles of the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, and continue to accurately implement the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee. We will focus on stabilizing employment, enterprises, markets and expectations, consolidate economic fundamentals, intensify efforts to cultivate new quality productive forces, and promote sustained and healthy economic development. Thank you.