BEIJING - China's industrial production saw steady growth in the first two months of this year, driven by robust manufacturing performance and the sustained effect of combined macro policies, official data showed on Monday.

China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 5.9 percent year-on-year during the January-February period, up 0.1 percentage points from the full-year growth rate of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The overall industrial output expansion, fuelled by the robust performance of the equipment manufacturing sector, was achieved despite a high comparative base during the same period last year, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui told a press conference.

In terms of sectors, the value-added of mining increased by 4.3 percent, manufacturing by 6.9 percent, and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water by 1.1 percent during the period, according to the data.

The value-added output of the equipment manufacturing sector rose by 10.6 percent year-on-year, an increase of 2.9 percentage points from the full-year growth rate of last year, providing strong support for the stable growth of overall industrial production, the data showed.

"Amid the accelerating integration of technological and industrial innovation, cutting-edge technologies such as information technology and artificial intelligence are increasingly driving industrial transformation, becoming new growth drivers for industrial development," Fu said.

The high-tech manufacturing sector saw a stellar performance, with its value-added output climbing 9.1 percent year-on-year. The production of industrial robots and integrated circuit wafers increased by 27 percent and 19.6 percent, respectively, according to Monday's data.

China's new energy industries have experienced strong growth, with new energy vehicle production surging 47.7 percent year-on-year and lithium-ion power battery output for automobiles rising 37.5 percent from the previous year, according to Fu.

The industrial output is used to measure the activity of large enterprises, each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($2.79 million).

Fu noted that more proactive and effective macro policies, coupled with breakthroughs in technologies such as artificial intelligence, have driven an improvement in corporate expectations. Last month, the purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector came in at 50.2, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous month and surpassing the boom-or-bust line of 50.

Despite steady industrial production growth, some enterprises are experiencing poor profitability due to structural imbalances in market supply and demand, Fu said, stressing the need to foster the integrated development of technological and industrial innovation and enhance corporate operations.

Fixed-asset investment

Monday's data also showed China's fixed-asset investment went up 4.1 percent year-on-year in the first two months of this year, 0.9 percentage points higher than the full-year growth rate of 2024.

The investment totaled 5.2619 trillion yuan during the January-February period, the bureau said.

"Investment growth in manufacturing and infrastructure construction has propelled a pickup in overall investment growth," said spokesperson for the bureau Fu. He attributed the boost to the country's efforts in promoting large-scale equipment upgrades and bolstering infrastructure that enhances public well-being.

Manufacturing investment increased 9 percent in the first two months, outpacing overall investment growth. Investment in infrastructure construction rose 5.6 percent year-on-year during the period, accelerating by 1.2 percentage points from that of 2024, the official data showed.

ALSO READ: Private sector plays key growth role

High-tech manufacturing is also gaining momentum, with investment in aerospace vehicles and equipment manufacturing jumping 27.1 percent and computer and office device manufacturing surging 31.6 percent.

Looking ahead, Fu said China's manufacturing sector is poised for further expansion. Accelerated industrial upgrading, breakthroughs in technology innovation and vigorous government support are expected to drive continued investment growth.

To drive stable investment growth, Fu added that China will actively expand effective investment, focus on improving investment efficiency and leverage various government tools to better mobilize private capital. 

Retail sales 

The country's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, climbed 4 percent year-on-year in the first two months, the data showed.

The growth rate is 0.5 percentage points higher than that in 2024, according to the bureau.

Total retail sales of consumer goods reached over 8.37 trillion yuan from January to February. Excluding automobiles, the figure was 7.68 trillion yuan, registering a year-on-year growth of 4.8 percent.

"Markets are the scarcest resource. With a population of over 1.4 billion and a per capita GDP of over $13,000, China offers a market with huge potential, broad space, and great development opportunities," spokesperson for the bureau Fu said in the same press conference.

Retail sales in the country's urban regions rose 3.8 percent year-on-year in the two-month period, while that in rural areas expanded 4.6 percent.

Online retail sales jumped 7.3 percent year-on-year to around 2.28 trillion yuan in the period. In particular, online retail sales of physical goods rose 5 percent year-on-year to 1.86 trillion yuan, accounting for 22.3 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

ALSO READ: Steps for boosting consumption unveiled

As Chinese residents' consumption capacity grows and consumption upgrades speed up, new types of consumption like green and digital consumption, and service consumption such as elderly and childcare services, are expanding and will become key drivers of consumption growth, Fu said.

Urban unemployment

The official data also indicated that the country's overall employment landscape has remained stable despite a fluctuation in its urban unemployment rate due to the Spring Festival holiday.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate on average stood at 5.3 percent in the first two months, unchanged from the same period last year, according to the bureau.

In February, the surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, up from 5.2 percent in January.

The bureau's spokesperson Fu said that the rate typically fluctuates in the January-February period due to the Spring Festival holiday, which ran from Jan 28 to Feb 4 this year.

China's efforts to stimulate domestic demand, promote high-quality development, upgrade traditional industries, and foster emerging sectors and business models are expected to provide a strong foundation for job growth, Fu said in the same press conference.

ALSO READ: Unions call for better protection of female jobseekers, employees

This year, significant efforts are still needed to stabilize and expand employment, he said, noting that "the international environment is complex and challenging, while the foundation for domestic economic recovery is not yet stable."

China has set a target for a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent in 2025 and aims to create over 12 million new urban jobs, according to this year's government work report released last week.

This year, the country is committed to further refining the employment-first policy and making better use of various types of funds and resources to provide stronger support. These policies are expected to maintain overall employment stability as their impact continues to unfold, according to Fu.

Property investment

China's investment in property development decreased 9.8 percent year-on-year from Janurary to February. The drop narrowed by 0.8 percentage points compared to the full year of 2024, the bureau said.

Total property investment in this period stood at 1.072 trillion yuan in the two-month period, the bureau's data showed. Investment in residential buildings came in at 805.6 billion yuan, down 9.2 percent year-on-year.

New commercial housing sales shrank 5.1 percent year-on-year in terms of floor area to 107.46 million square meters in January and February, a reduction of 7.8 percentage points smaller than last year's full-year decline.

In terms of value, new commercial housing sales dropped 2.6 percent year-on-year to nearly 1.026 trillion yuan, with the decrease narrowing by 14.5 percentage points.

The property development climate index, compiled by the bureau, came in at 93.8 points in February.

Home prices

On the real estate market, commercial home prices dipped slightly in China's 70 large and medium-sized cities in February amid Spring Festival sales off-season and other factors, according to the bureau's data.

Prices of new homes in the first-tier cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, increased 0.1 percent from a month ago, the data showed.

In the second-tier cities, prices of new homes stayed flat from the January level, while prices of resold homes dropped by 0.4 percent.

"China's real estate market has remained generally steady so far this year, continuing to move toward stemming market downturn and restoring stability," said Fu, the bureau's spokesperson.

He cited data that showed the declines in new commercial housing sales narrowed by 7.8 percentage points in terms of floor area and 14.5 percentage points in value compared with the full-year drop of 2024.

READ MORE: China posts narrowed declines of home prices in March

On a yearly basis, price reductions of new homes and resold homes across 70 large and medium-sized cities have also continued to lessen in February, according to Fu.

A survey of developers and real estate agencies last month showed that up to 71.8 percent of respondents expected the property market would either remain stable or shift to an upward trend in the upcoming six months, up 2.8 percentage points from a month ago, said Fu.