China’s Economy Goes Off to an Impressive Start in 2025, Marked by Rising Industrial Output, Fixed Asset Investment, Retail Sales

By Ma Jingjing

Mar 17, 2025 10:15 AM

Robots work at an intelligent plant of truck manufacturer First Automotive Works Jiefang Co., Ltd. (FAW Jiefang) in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, June 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)

China's economy has maintained strong growing momentum in the first two months of 2025, with industrial output, fixed asset investment and retail sales all growing at a faster pace than a year earlier, official data released on Monday showed. 

In January and February, the value-added output of major industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 5.9 percent year-on-year, 0.1 percentage points higher than the full-year growth rate in 2024, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

During the first two months this year, national retail sales reached 8.37 trillion yuan ($1.16 trillion), up by 4.0 percent year-on-year, 0.5 percent higher than a year earlier. During the period, the country's online retail sales reached 2.28 trillion yuan, up by 7.3 percent year-on-year.

Fixed assets investment in the first two months reached 5.26 trillion yuan, increasing 4.1 percent than a year earlier, or 0.9 percentage points higher than the full-year growth rate in 2024, according to the NBS.

"A combination of existing and new policies has continued to yield results, leading to rapid growth in industrial and service sectors, a marked rise in consumption and investment, stable employment, as well as thriving new quality productive forces. The national economy got off to a steady start with new and positive development momentum," Fu Linghui, a NBS spokesperson, said at a press conference on Monday.

China's urban surveyed unemployment rate came in at 5.3 percent in the first two months of 2025, which has remained stable. 

During the just-concluded two sessions, China set a GDP growth target of around 5 percent for its economy in 2025. This reflects policymakers' confidence in sustaining stable growth in the world's second-largest economy despite facing challenges such as weak domestic demand and external volatilities.

"The macroeconomic data for the first two months display ample signs that China's economy is resilient and stable. Coupled with the government's incremental pro-growth policies to boost domestic demand, the economy is well positioned to achieve this year's GDP growth target," Chen Fengying, a research fellow at the Beijing-based China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Monday.

Chen noted that macroeconomic policies unveiled during this year's two sessions are "more specific, pragmatic, and timely," with total fiscal spending projected to reach 11.86 trillion yuan this year. 

On Sunday, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued an action plan to vigorously boost consumption, stimulate domestic demand across the board, and increase households' spending power by increasing their earnings and reducing financial burdens.

The plan aims to create a positive cycle where demand drives supply and supply stimulates demand, unlocking domestic consumption potential and encouraging supply upgrades. By effectively leveraging the role of both government and market, integrating consumption promotion with people's welfare and infrastructure improvement, the policies will inject strong momentum into economic growth, Chen said.

Fu said there are many favorable conditions for the economy to maintain steady and healthy development in 2025. 

He said the emerging economic drivers are reinforcing in themselves, thanks to the country's strong industrial basis, huge consumption and investment potential, and massive market potential, while the comprehensive reform and opening-up will continue to inject more steam to economic development.