SCIO briefing on China's economic performance in first quarter of 2021

Fourth, market sales improved gradually, and online retail sales grew rapidly.

In the first quarter, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 10,522.1 billion yuan, up by 33.9% year on year, or up by 1.86% quarter on quarter, with an average two-year growth of 4.2%. Specifically, in March, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3,548.4 billion yuan, up by 34.2% year on year, 0.4 percentage points higher than that in the first two months, with an average two-year growth of 6.3%, or up by 1.75% month on month. Analyzed by different areas, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 9,134.5 billion yuan, up by 34.6% year on year, or an average two-year growth of 4.3%; and that in rural areas rose by 29.4% year on year to 1,387.5 billion yuan, with an average two-year growth of 3.2%. Grouped by consumption patterns, the income of catering was 1,059.6 billion yuan, up by 75.8% year on year, or an average two-year decline of 1.0%; and the retail sales of goods was 9,462.5 billion yuan, up by 30.4% year on year, or an average two-year growth of 4.8%. Grouped by categories, for the retail sales of goods by enterprises above the designated size in the first quarter, the year-on-year growth rates of 18 categories of goods exceeded 10%. Specifically, the retail sales of sports and recreational goods and communication equipment grew by 45.2% and 42.4% year on year, respectively, with average two-year growth of 17.4% and 17.1%, respectively. Online retail sales reached 2,809.3 billion yuan, up by 29.9% year on year, with an average two-year growth of 13.5%. Specifically, the online retail sales of physical goods totaled 2,306.7 billion yuan, up by 25.8% year on year, with an average two-year growth of 15.4%, accounting for 21.9% of the total retail sales of consumer goods, which was 1.2 percentage points higher than that in the first two months of this year.

Fifth, fixed asset investment recovered steadily and investment in high-tech industries and social sectors grew quickly.

In the first quarter, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 9.5994 trillion yuan, up by 25.6% over last year, or up by 2.06% quarter on quarter with an average two-year growth of 2.9%. In March, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) grew by 1.51% month on month. Specifically, in the first quarter, the investment in infrastructure was up by 29.7% year on year, an average two-year growth of 2.3%; manufacturing was up by 29.8% year on year, an average two-year decrease of 2.0%; and real estate development was up by 25.6% year on year, an average two-year growth of 7.6%. The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 360.07 million square meters, up by 63.8% year on year, an average two-year growth of 9.9%. The total sales of commercial buildings was 3.8378 trillion yuan, up by 88.5% year on year, an average two-year growth of 19.1%. By industry, investment in the primary industry increased 45.9% year on year, with an average two-year growth of 14.8%; in the secondary industry it was up by 27.8% year on year, with an average two-year decrease of 0.3%; and the tertiary industry grew by 24.1% year on year, an average two-year growth of 4.0%. Private investment went up by 26.0% year on year, an average two-year growth of 1.7%. Investment in high-tech industries grew by 37.3% year on year, an average two-year growth of 9.9%. Specifically, the investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 41.6% and 28.6% year on year, respectively, with average two-year growth of 10.7% and 8.2%, respectively. In terms of high-tech manufacturing, investment in the manufacturing of medical equipment, measuring instruments and meters, and in the manufacturing of computers and office devices grew by 50.0% and 49.5% year on year, respectively, with average two-year growth of 9.1% and 24.2%, respectively. In terms of high-tech services, investment in testing services and in research, development and design services went up by 55.7% and 48.2% year on year, respectively, with average two-year growth of 14.8% and 21.5%, respectively. Investment in social sectors increased 31.7% year on year, with an average two-year growth of 9.6%. Specifically, investment in the health sector and education sector went up by 50.9% and 27.0% year on year, respectively, with average two-year growth of 22.3% and 10.4%, respectively.