The industrial operation in the first quarter was better than expected
The added value of national industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.5% year-on-year
The industrial operation in the first quarter was better than expected
In March, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 8.5%, a significant increase from the previous two months
The production of construction machinery products and environmental protection equipment showed a good growth trend in the first quarter, while the production of new energy vehicles increased by 48.2% year-on-year
The investment in technological transformation of manufacturing industry increased significantly by 16.9% in the first quarter
At the press conference held by the State Council Information Office on the 23rd, Huang Libin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and director of the Operations Monitoring and Coordination Bureau, said that the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size in the first quarter increased by 6.5% year-on-year, higher than the annual expected growth target of 5.5% -6% set at the beginning of the year.
Stable operation at the beginning, improved supply-demand relationship
The characteristic of industrial operation in the first quarter is overall stability, with a slight increase in stability, "said Huang Libin. In terms of year-on-year growth rate, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size in China increased by 6.5% in the first quarter. Although the growth rate fell 0.3 percentage points compared to the same period in 2018, it rebounded by 0.8 and 0.3 percentage points respectively compared to the fourth quarter and the whole year of last year. Especially in March, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 8.5%, a significant increase from the 5.3% growth rate in the previous two months.
From a structural perspective, in the first quarter, the growth rate of manufacturing value-added reached 7.2%, which was 0.2 and 0.7 percentage points higher than the same period last year and the entire year of last year, respectively. In the manufacturing industry, by continuously consolidating the achievements of reducing overcapacity, strictly implementing the policy of capacity replacement, resolutely cracking down on illegal and irregular steel production capacity, steadily promoting the relocation and transformation of hazardous chemical production enterprises, the supply-demand relationship in related industries has significantly improved. In the first quarter, the added value of the raw material industry increased by 7.1%, with a year-on-year acceleration of 3.6 percentage points. The added value of consumer goods industry increased by 7.4% year-on-year, with the growth rate remaining the same as the same period last year. The equipment manufacturing industry has stopped falling and stabilized, with a year-on-year increase of 7.3% in added value in the first quarter, up 0.8 percentage points from the fourth quarter of last year. The production of construction machinery products and environmental protection equipment has shown good growth, while the production of new energy vehicles has increased by 48.2% year-on-year.
From a regional perspective, the industrial growth rate in most areas has stabilized and rebounded. In the first quarter, 22 provinces in China had industrial growth rates faster than the annual target. The industrial growth rate in the eastern region is significantly faster than the second half of last year, with a year-on-year increase of 5.9% in industrial added value in the first quarter. The growth rate has rebounded by 0.9 and 1 percentage point respectively compared to the third and fourth quarters of last year. The growth in the central region has accelerated, with industrial added value increasing by 9% in the first quarter, and the growth rate accelerating by 1.3 percentage points year-on-year. The Northeast region has stabilized and rebounded, with industrial added value growing by 6.3% in the first quarter, an increase of 1.4 percentage points year-on-year.
政策红利释放，市场活力增强
“党中央、国务院一系列促稳举措加快落地，市场信心得到极大提振。”黄利斌介绍，全面实施小微企业普惠性税收减免、大幅放宽小微企业所得税优惠标准并提高增值税起征点等一系列政策红利逐步释放，市场活力进一步增强。一季度规模以上民营工业企业和中小工业企业的增加值同比增速，分别增长10.6%和9.5%。其中，民营工业企业增加值增速比去年全年加快4个百分点，明显快于整体工业增速。
“清理拖欠民营企业中小企业账款，是优化营商环境、营造公平竞争环境、缓解企业资金压力的重要举措，也是一块难啃的硬骨头。”黄利斌举例说，自去年11月底以来，各地区、各有关部门开展清欠专项行动，截至今年3月，全国政府部门和大型国有企业已经清偿民营企业、中小企业账款2651亿元。其中，中央企业完成进度的72%，地方政府和国有大型企业完成进度的32%，有1/3省份清欠进度超过一半。下一步，工信部将继续发挥减轻企业负担部际联席会议作用，加强对清欠工作的督促指导，确保完成今年《政府工作报告》提出的对拖欠企业款项年底前要清偿一半以上的目标。
三驾马车均衡发力，市场预期改善
“一季度，消费、投资、出口三驾马车均衡发力，推动市场回升，预期改善。”黄利斌说，优化供给推动消费平稳增长，多措并举促进消费升级，3月份消费品零售总额同比增长8.7%，比前两个月加快0.5个百分点。加大基础设施等领域补短板强弱项力度，实施传统产业改造提升工程，一季度全社会固定资产投资同比增长6.3%，比前两个月加快0.2个百分点，其中，制造业技术改造投资大幅增长16.9%。进一步开拓多元化市场，一季度工业品出口交货值同比增长4.8%，比去年12月回升0.7个百分点。
随着市场回升、预期改善，3月份制造业采购经理人指数（PMI）时隔3个月再度进入扩张区间，其中，生产指数为52.7%，比2月份大幅回升3.2个百分点。春节后，工信部对1.5万家企业问卷调查显示，超过2/3的企业表示在手订单较为充足。
“当前经济运行积极因素增加，工业实现平稳开局，但也稳中存压、稳中存忧。”黄利斌说，开年以来世界经济增长动能明显减弱，部分行业受需求减弱和技术换代等因素影响进入发展平台期，一些企业面临成本高企与产品价格低迷的双重挤压，盈利水平下降。我国工业正处在爬坡过坎的关键时期，巩固向好势头还需付出艰苦努力。
Information source: China Government website
