BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The improving economic figures in the first quarter (Q1) despite headwinds at home and abroad have not only signaled a sound start for the Chinese economy this year, but also provided powerful evidence of the efficacy of China's economic policies.
At the heart of this positive momentum is China's gross domestic product, which grew 5 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2026, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday. The figure underscores the resilience and vitality of the world's second-largest economy.
A closer look at supporting indicators reinforces the viewpoint. The producer price index rose 0.5 percent year on year in March, ending a 41-month streak of declines and reflecting improved domestic supply-demand dynamics. In Q1, China's consumer price index rose 0.9 percent year on year, 0.4 percentage points higher than the fourth quarter of last year. The purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector stood at 50.4 in March, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous month.
The vitality is evident in the technology industries. In recent years, an in-depth implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy has accelerated the upgrading of the domestic industrial structure through technological and industrial innovation, fostering new drivers of economic growth. For example, the country has become a global leader in the new energy vehicle industry. In Q1, the added value of the equipment and high-tech manufacturing sectors grew by 8.9 percent and 12.5 percent year on year respectively, much higher than the 6.1-percent growth in value-added industrial output for enterprises above designated size.
Policy efficacy is clearly seen in boosting domestic demand, a government priority for this year's economic work. Driven by more proactive macro-policies and concrete, targeted measures, including ultra-long special treasury bonds for consumer goods trade-in programs, and interest subsidies for consumers and service providers, market sales have grown steadily, and consumer demand for services has accelerated. The consumer goods trade-in initiative alone generated over 430 billion yuan (62.67 billion U.S. dollars) in sales in Q1. Fixed-asset investment went up 1.7 percent year on year, reversing the 3.8-percent decline recorded for the whole of last year.
The services sector is emerging as a key source of growth. Major measures to boost service consumption since the start of this year, including work plans to accelerate the cultivation of new growth areas of the sector, are yielding results. In Q1, retail sales of services rose 5.5 percent year on year. The boom of the "spring economy" and "experience economy" in various places has spurred new consumption patterns.
A particularly striking aspect of the first quarter is the strong growth of foreign trade, thanks to an optimized structure and expanding domestic demand. With an increase of 15 percent year on year, China's trade volume in Q1 reached a record high for the same period, defying the weak global trade trends. The quarterly growth rate of China's goods trade was the highest in five years.
Notably, in line with China's pursuit of balanced trade development through active efforts to expand imports, China's imports in Q1 increased by nearly 20 percent year on year and hit a record high for the same period in history.
Furthermore, China has shared new opening-up dividends with the rest of the world by establishing the China (Inner Mongolia) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the 23rd of its kind in the country. Starting May 1, China will fully implement zero-tariff measures for 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic ties.
The uplifting Q1 results have once again highlighted the stable strength of the Chinese economy and debunked recent Western bearish rhetoric about it. The latest figures present a compelling narrative of remarkable resilience, sound strategic direction, effective macroeconomic policies, and tremendous long-term growth potential.
Despite external uncertainties and geopolitical risks, as well as some problems in its own economic operations, China has ample and effective policy tools to shape its economic growth trajectory and balance immediate needs with long-term strategic goals. Its resilience will continue to be strengthened through a far-sighted, massive green transition drive, a shift to a high-quality growth model driven by innovation and consumption, a complete industrial system, and policy consistency, among other factors.
With new, solid efforts to advance all measures and tasks and further improve the efficacy of macro-policies, the Chinese economy is positioned to consolidate and expand its positive momentum of stable growth and improvement, and achieve its full-year targets for high-quality development. ■
