At the press conference. China Network Zhang Ruiyu photo
The Press Office of the State Council held a press conference at 10 am on Monday, December 16, 2019. Fu Linghui, spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics, introduced the national economic operation in November 2019 and answered questions from reporters.
Xi Yanchun, deputy director of the State Council Information Bureau, presided over the press conference. China Network Zhang Ruiyu photo
Yan Yanchun, deputy director of the State Council Information Bureau:
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the press conference of the State Council Information Office. Today, we are very pleased to invite Mr. Fu Linghui, spokesman of the National Bureau of Statistics, to introduce the national economy in November this year and answer questions from journalists and friends.
Fu Linghui, spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics. China Network Zhang Ruiyu photo
Fu Linghui, spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics:
First of all, thank you for coming to today’s press conference in the snow. It will be New Year’s Day in ten days. I wish you all a happy New Year in advance and thank you for your support for statistical work this year. Next year, the National Bureau of Statistics will also carry out two censuses, one is the seventh national census, and the other is the census to tackle poverty. I hope that journalists and friends will continue to care and support statistical work.
According to the usual practice, I will first introduce the main economic situation in November, and then answer your questions.
November witnessed steady progress in the national economy. In November, faced with the complicated situation that risks and challenges at home and abroad have obviously increased, all localities and departments conscientiously implemented the decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council under the guidance of the Supreme Leader’s Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought in the new era, adhered to the general tone of striving for progress while maintaining stability, focused on supply-side structural reform, promoted high-quality development, and did a good job in stabilizing employment, finance, foreign trade, investment and expectations. The main economic indicators were better than expected, and the national economy maintained steady progress.
First, the industrial growth rate has risen, and the development of emerging industries has continued to accelerate.
In November, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.2% year-on-year, and the growth rate was 1.5 percentage points higher than that of the previous month. From January to November, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 5.6%, and the growth rate was the same as that in January-October. In terms of economic types, in November, the added value of state-owned holding enterprises increased by 3.7%; Joint-stock enterprises increased by 7.0%, and foreign-invested enterprises from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan increased by 3.2%; Private enterprises grew by 8.9%, and the growth rate was 3.5 percentage points faster than last month. In terms of three categories, the added value of mining industry increased by 5.7%, manufacturing industry increased by 6.3%, and electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply industries increased by 6.7%. The added value of high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing increased by 8.9% and 8.5% respectively, which was 2.7 and 2.3 percentage points faster than that of industries above designated size. Among them, medical equipment and instrument manufacturing, electronics and communication equipment manufacturing increased by 12.6% and 10.8% respectively, 6.4 and 4.6 percentage points faster than industries above designated size. The output of solar cells and integrated circuits increased by 23.0% and 18.2% respectively. Automobile production increased by 3.7%. In the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) sub-index, the production index, new order index and supplier delivery time index were 52.6%, 51.3% and 50.5% respectively, all above the critical point and all rebounded from last month. The expected index of manufacturing production and operation activities is 54.9%, which is located in a high boom zone.
Second, the service industry is rising steadily, and the modern service industry is growing well.
In November, the national service industry production index increased by 6.8% year-on-year, and the growth rate increased by 0.2 percentage points over the previous month. Information transmission, software and information technology services, leasing and business services increased by 16.3% and 11.8% respectively, and the growth rate was faster than the national service industry production index by 9.5 and 5.0 percentage points respectively. From January to November, the national service industry production index increased by 6.9% year on year. In November, the business activity index of the service industry was 53.5%, 2.1 percentage points higher than that of the previous month, and it continued to be above threshold, among which the business activity indexes of postal services, accommodation services, telecommunications, radio and television services and satellite transmission services were all in the higher boom zone of more than 58.0%. The expected index of service business activities was 60.6%, up 0.3 percentage points from last month.
From January to October, the operating income of service enterprises above designated size increased by 9.1% year-on-year, among which the strategic emerging service industry, high-tech service industry and science and technology service industry increased by 12.0%, 11.5% and 11.4% respectively, which were 2.9, 2.4 and 2.3 percentage points faster than all service industries above designated size. Service enterprises above designated size achieved a year-on-year increase of 3.2% in operating profit.
Third, the growth rate of market sales accelerated, and the proportion of online retail of physical goods continued to increase.
In November, the total retail sales of social consumer goods was 3,809.4 billion yuan, up 8.0% year-on-year, and the growth rate was 0.8 percentage points higher than that of last month. Among them, the total retail sales of social consumer goods excluding automobiles increased by 9.1%. From January to November, the total retail sales of social consumer goods reached 37,287.2 billion yuan, up 8.0% year-on-year. According to the location of business units, in November, the retail sales of urban consumer goods was 3,234.5 billion yuan, an increase of 7.9%; The retail sales of rural consumer goods reached 574.8 billion yuan, an increase of 9.1%. According to consumption types, catering revenue was 496.4 billion yuan, an increase of 9.7%; Retail sales of commodities reached 3,313 billion yuan, up by 7.8%. Consumption-upgrading commodities grew rapidly. Cosmetics, beverages and communication equipment in units above designated size increased by 16.8%, 13.0% and 12.1% respectively, which were faster than the total retail sales of all social consumer goods by 8.8, 5.0 and 4.1 percentage points respectively.
From January to November, the national online retail sales reached 9,495.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.6%, and the growth rate was 0.2 percentage points higher than that in January-October. Among them, the online retail sales of physical goods was 7,603.2 billion yuan, up by 19.7%, accounting for 20.4% of the total retail sales of social consumer goods, up by 2.2 percentage points over the same period of last year.
Fourth, investment grew steadily, and investment in short-board areas grew rapidly.
From January to November, the national investment in fixed assets (excluding farmers) was 53,371.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%, and the growth rate was the same as that in January-October. In terms of fields, investment in infrastructure increased by 4.0% year-on-year, investment in manufacturing increased by 2.5%, and investment in real estate development increased by 10.2%. The national commercial housing sales area was 1,489.05 million square meters, up by 0.2% year-on-year; The sales of commercial housing was 13.9 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.3%. By industry, investment in the primary industry decreased by 0.1%, investment in the secondary industry increased by 2.4%, and investment in the tertiary industry increased by 6.7%. Private investment was 30,378.6 billion yuan, up by 4.5%. From January to November, investment in high-tech industries increased by 14.1% year-on-year, which was 8.9 percentage points faster than the total investment. Among them, investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech service industries increased by 14.8% and 13.1% year-on-year, respectively. Investment in social fields increased by 12.6% year-on-year, 7.4 percentage points faster than the total investment, among which investment in education, culture, sports and entertainment increased by 17.5% and 13.4% respectively. The investment in ecological protection and environmental governance, environmental monitoring and governance services increased by 36.3% and 30.6% respectively, which was 31.1% and 25.4% faster than the total investment.
V. The employment situation is generally stable, and the survey unemployment rate is flat.
From January to November, 12.79 million new jobs were created in cities and towns nationwide, accounting for 116.3% of the annual target. In November, the national urban survey unemployment rate was 5.1%, of which the population aged 25-59 was 4.6% and the urban survey unemployment rate in 31 big cities was 5.1%, both of which were the same as last month. The average weekly working hours of employees in enterprises nationwide were 46.7 hours, an increase of 0.5 hours year-on-year.
Six, the year-on-year increase in consumer prices expanded, and the decline in ex-factory prices of industrial producers narrowed.
In November, the national consumer price rose by 4.5% year-on-year, an increase of 0.7 percentage points over the previous month; It rose by 0.4% from the previous month, and the growth rate dropped by 0.5 percentage points from the previous month. By category, the prices of food, tobacco and alcohol increased by 13.9%, clothing by 1.1%, housing by 0.4%, daily necessities and services by 0.4%, transportation and communication by 2.8%, education, culture and entertainment by 1.7%, medical care by 2.0% and other supplies and services by 4.5%. Among the prices of food, tobacco and alcohol, the price of grain rose by 0.7%, pork by 110.2%, fresh vegetables by 3.9% and fresh fruits by 6.8%. After deducting food and energy prices, the core CPI rose by 1.4%. From January to November, the national consumer price rose by 2.8% year-on-year.
In November, the ex-factory price of industrial producers nationwide decreased by 1.4% year-on-year, with a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month and a decrease of 0.1% from the previous month. The purchase price of industrial producers decreased by 2.2% year-on-year and 0.1% quarter-on-quarter. From January to November, the ex-factory price of industrial producers decreased by 0.3% year-on-year, and the purchase price of industrial producers decreased by 0.7%.
Seven, import and export from down to up, to further optimize the trade structure.
In November, the total import and export of goods was 2,861.4 billion yuan, up 1.8% year-on-year, down 0.4% last month. Among them, the export was 1,567.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.3%; Imports reached 1,293.6 billion yuan, up 2.5%. Import and export balance, with a trade surplus of 274.2 billion yuan. From January to November, the total import and export volume of goods was 28,504.8 billion yuan, an increase of 2.4%. Among them, exports reached 15.555 billion yuan, up by 4.5%; Imports were 12,949.8 billion yuan, which was the same as that of the same period last year. The trade structure continued to be optimized. The import and export of general trade increased by 4.8%, accounting for 59.2% of the total import and export, up by 1.4 percentage points over the same period of last year. The import and export of private enterprises increased by 10.4%, accounting for 42.5% of the total import and export, an increase of 3.1 percentage points over the same period of last year. Industrial enterprises above designated size realized export delivery value of 11,231.1 billion yuan, up 1.5% year-on-year.
At the same time, it should be noted that the current international environment is unstable and uncertain, the world economic and trade growth continues to slow down, and the downward pressure on the domestic economy is still relatively large. In the next stage, we should fully implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Second, Third and Fourth Plenary Sessions of the 19th National Congress, implement the decision-making arrangements of the Central Economic Work Conference, closely follow the goal and task of building a well-off society in an all-round way, adhere to the general tone of striving for progress while maintaining stability, adhere to the new development concept, adhere to the supply-side structural reform as the main line, and take reform and opening up as the driving force to accelerate the construction of a modern economic system. We will do a good job of "six stabilities" in an all-round way, make overall plans to promote steady growth, promote reform, adjust the structure, benefit people’s livelihood, prevent risks, ensure stability, keep the economy running in a reasonable range, and promote high-quality development. Thank you.
Attack Yan Chun:
Thank you for your introduction. Let’s enter the question-and-answer session. Please inform your news organization before asking questions.
CCTV reporter from the Central Radio and Television General Station:
Judging from your introduction just now, the main index data in November was better than expected. What is the reason? How do you evaluate the performance of economic operation in November? Thank you.
Fu Linghui:
Thank you for your question. In November, under the influence of a series of policies and the joint efforts of the whole country, the economic operation showed positive changes, and the overall stable and steady economic operation was further manifested. From the main indicators, it can be summarized into the following characteristics: first, "two accelerations", second, "two stabilities" and third, "two improvements".
Two accelerations: First, the growth of industry and service industry accelerated. Judging from the situation just introduced, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.2% year-on-year in November, 1.5 percentage points faster than last month. From the industry point of view, the growth rate of 33 of the 41 major industries is faster than that of last month, accounting for about 80% of all industries. From the perspective of major products, more than 60% of the more than 500 major industrial products are faster than last month. In November, the service industry production index increased by 6.8%, 0.2 percentage points faster than last month, and the growth of most service industries also accelerated than last month. Second, the market sales accelerated. In November, the total retail sales of social consumer goods increased by 8% year-on-year, 0.8 percentage points faster than last month. Among the 18 categories of goods in statistics, 14 categories accelerated compared with last month, accounting for more than 70% of the total. The acceleration of market sales has a great relationship with the growth of online retail in November. The growth rate of online retail in November was significantly faster than that of last month, which played a positive role in stimulating the growth of total retail sales of consumer goods in that month.
Two stabilities: First, the employment situation remains stable. In the first 11 months, the number of new jobs in cities and towns reached 12.79 million, and the expected target for the whole year has been fulfilled ahead of schedule. From the perspective of the whole year, the level of new employment is expected to reach more than 13 million, which will be 13 million for seven consecutive years, which is very difficult. Judging from the survey unemployment rate, the national urban survey unemployment rate in November was 5.1%, which was the same as last month. Among them, the survey unemployment rate of employed people aged 25 to 59 was 4.6%, which was also the same as last month, and employment remained stable. Second, the growth of foreign trade and foreign investment remained stable. In the first 11 months, the total import and export volume increased by 2.4%, of which the export volume increased by 4.5%, the total import and export volume with major trading partners such as the European Union increased by 7.7%, the total import and export volume with ASEAN countries increased by 12.7%, and the import and export volume with countries along the "Belt and Road" increased by 9.9%. The situation of foreign trade growth was stable. From the perspective of foreign investment, the actual utilization of foreign capital in the first 11 months increased by 6% year-on-year, of which the utilization of foreign capital in high-tech industries increased by nearly 30%, and foreign trade remained stable.
Two improvements: First, the economic structure continues to improve. We also see that domestic demand continues to increase the economic growth, and the growth rate of both investment and market sales is faster than that of exports. In domestic demand, the growth of consumption continues to be faster than that of investment, and the structure of domestic demand continues to be optimized. From the perspective of industrial structure, the high-tech industry and equipment manufacturing industry in the industry grew by 8.9% and 8.5% respectively in the month, which were obviously faster than the growth of industries above designated size; Among the service industries, modern service industries, such as information technology, software transmission, business and leasing services, are growing faster than the production index of all service industries. This is an improvement in the economic structure. Second, market expectations are improving. In November, the index of manufacturing PMI was 50.2%, up 0.9 percentage points from last month, and it rose for the first time after falling below the critical point for several months, reaching above threshold. The PMI of non-manufacturing industry is 54.4%, and the PMI of service industry is 53.5%, both of which are obviously higher than last month.
Judging from these circumstances, the economic operation has maintained a generally stable and steady development trend. This fully shows that under the complicated and severe international environment, China’s economy does have strong resilience, potential and room for maneuver, and it also shows that the basic trend of China’s economic stability and long-term improvement has not changed. Of course, we should also see that the current world economic growth is generally slowing down, and there are still many unstable and uncertain factors in the growth of economic and trade pressure. The domestic economy is still in the critical period of transforming the development mode, optimizing the economic structure and transforming the growth momentum. Structural, institutional and cyclical problems are intertwined, and there is still downward pressure on economic operation. In the next stage, we should further do a good job of "six stabilities" in accordance with the decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to promote sustained and healthy economic development. Thank you.
Attack Yan Chun:
Please keep asking questions. Do foreign journalists have any questions today?
Reuters reporter:
From the data in November, there are signs of stabilization and even positive changes. Does this mean that the economic growth in the fourth quarter can curb the downward trend in previous quarters, and may even be higher than 6%? Thank you.
Fu Linghui:
Thank you for your question. Since the beginning of this year, the overall economic growth in China has been steady, with the GDP increasing by 6.2% in the first three quarters. Judging from the situation in the fourth quarter, there have been some positive changes in the main indicators in November. We think it should be basic and conditional to achieve the expected growth target for the whole year. However, we must also see that the current international environment is still relatively complicated, and there is still downward pressure in economic operation. In the next stage, we should further do a good job of "six stabilities" according to the central government’s deployment, promote innovation-driven development, and promote sustained, healthy and stable economic development. Thank you.
Central Radio and Television General Station Yang Guang reporter:
My question is about the growth rate of industrial production in November. We noticed that the index accelerated obviously. What are the main reasons? In addition, can industrial production stabilize and rebound in the next stage? Thank you.
Fu Linghui:
Thank you for your question. Since the beginning of this year, industrial growth has maintained a generally stable trend, especially the structural optimization trend of industrial production is emerging, and some new growth momentum is accumulating. Judging from the main indicators in November, the industrial production in November accelerated by 1.5 percentage points compared with the previous month, of which the manufacturing industry increased by 6.3%, which was 1.7 percentage points faster than the previous month. From the perspective of industry, 80% of industries and about 60% of products are accelerating. This is the first characteristic of performance.
The second feature, structural optimization, is continuous. As mentioned earlier, industrial development is changing from quantitative expansion to qualitative improvement. According to the main data, high-tech industries and equipment manufacturing industries maintained relatively rapid growth, with an increase of 8.9% and 8.5% respectively in November, both of which were significantly faster than industrial growth above designated size.
The third feature is that the kinetic energy of industrial growth is actually increasing. With the upgrading of industry and the upgrading of residents’ consumption, the growth momentum of some new products is very strong. For example, in November, the output of smart watches and 3D printing equipment increased by more than one time. There are also products related to energy conservation and environmental protection, such as charging piles, and the output of the month increased by more than 40%. At the same time, we should also see that a series of measures to reduce taxes and fees and promote the development of private economy and small and medium-sized enterprises have also been effective this year. In November, the added value of private enterprises increased by 8.9% year-on-year, which was significantly faster than the growth of all industries above designated size. Judging from the situation in the first 10 months, the profits of private enterprises increased by 5.3% year-on-year; At the same time, we can also see that the profit growth of high-tech manufacturing industry also maintained relatively fast, with a year-on-year increase of 7.5%. Based on the above situation, it can be concluded that industrial development continues to advance on the road of upgrading to quality.
From the future, there is still a very good foundation for industrial production, which is mainly manifested in the following aspects: First, our industry category has all the major categories of industries in the United Nations industry category, and the output of about 200 kinds of products ranks first in the world, and the industrial supporting capacity of enterprises is very strong. Second, China has a huge market scale, which provides a good foundation for the upgrading and development of enterprises and the future growth of enterprises. Third, the innovation drive has injected new impetus into the development of industry. As mentioned earlier, some new products and industries are thriving, especially high-tech industries.
From the perspective of future development, industrial growth is still an important driving force to support China’s economic growth. Of course, we also see that there are still structural contradictions between industrial production and market demand, and it is still difficult to fully adapt to the development of consumption upgrading. In the future, we must adhere to innovation-driven and promote high-quality industrial development. Thank you.
Japan Economic News reporter:
Sino-US trade talks reached the first stage agreement. What impact do you think this will have on China’s economic trend? Thank you.
Fu Linghui:
Thank you for your question. China and the United States are currently the two largest countries in the world, and mutual cooperation between China and the United States is a relatively good development for China, the United States and the world. The economic markets of China and the United States are relatively large, and their economic complementarities are relatively strong. At present, the two sides have reached an agreement on the text of the first phase of the agreement, which reduces the uncertainty of the market and is of positive significance for enhancing market confidence and promoting economic and trade development, whether for China, the United States or even the world. Against the background of the slowdown of world economic and trade growth, the two sides continued to promote consultations on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, and gradually abolished or even completely abolished tariff increases, thus contributing more to world economic growth. Thank you.
Economic Daily reporter:
In November, the growth rate of total retail sales of social consumer goods accelerated by 0.8 percentage points year-on-year, which also returned to 8% after four months of adjustment. Is this mainly due to the short-term factors of "Double Eleven"? In addition, what are the strong supports for future consumption growth? Thank you.
Fu Linghui:
Thank you for your question. In November, the market sales obviously accelerated, and the growth rate in that month was 8%, 0.8 percentage points higher than that in the previous month. As you said, the "Double Eleven" shopping festival is very obvious for online retail sales. Just now, it was actually mentioned in the introduction that the growth of online retail sales of physical goods in that month was obviously accelerated, which played a great role in stimulating the total retail sales of consumer goods in that month. The development of this new consumption pattern and new consumption format really plays an important role in promoting the growth of consumption, but in this process, we should also see other characteristics. For example, the trend of consumption upgrading is continuous, such as cosmetics and sports and entertainment products increased by 16.8% and 20.1% respectively. At the same time, we should also see that the current consumption is gradually changing from the past consumption in kind to more service consumption. According to preliminary calculations, the current service consumption accounts for about 50% of household consumption. According to our calculation, service consumption has maintained double-digit growth this year. We are not only improving the quality of traditional goods, but also expanding the demand for services such as tourism, health, education and old-age care. The development of consumption will play a more and more important role in stimulating China’s economy.
From the perspective of future development, China’s consumption prospects are very broad. China has a population of nearly 1.4 billion, and we have a middle-income group of about 400 million. This is the largest middle-income group in the world, and the market scale is huge. Second, the income of China residents is increasing gradually. At present, according to the standards of the World Bank, China’s national income level is among the upper-middle income countries. In 2018, China’s per capita gross national income level will probably be more than 9,700 US dollars, and we will move towards a high income level in the future. Judging from the situation in the first three quarters, the per capita disposable income of residents increased by 6.1% year-on-year, which means that the consumption power of residents is increasing. Third, the employment situation is relatively stable, and the coverage of social security is expanding, which is conducive to stabilizing consumption expectations. In the first 11 months, the number of new jobs reached 12.79 million, and the survey unemployment rate remained at 5.1%, which is a relatively low level. Our coverage of medical care and old-age care is also gradually expanding, which is conducive to enhancing consumer confidence.
Finally, a series of measures to encourage and support consumption development are also conducive to consumption growth. Under the development trend of "streamline administration, delegate power, strengthen regulation and improve services" reform, "mass entrepreneurship and innovation", a large number of new consumption formats have emerged. As we have just seen, online retailing played a great role in promoting the growth of consumption in November. Taken together, the future development of China will be dominated by domestic demand and driven by consumption, and the sustainability of growth will be further improved. Thank you.
Hong Kong South China Morning Post reporter:
In terms of investment, the growth rate of infrastructure investment and manufacturing investment is still at a low level and has slowed down. I don’t know how to evaluate the reasons for this. In addition, there have been some recent analysis and discussions that China’s economic growth rate should be maintained at 6% next year. What do you think of the current discussion on "guarantee 6"? Thank you.
Fu Linghui:
Thank you for your question. There are mainly two issues, one is about investment and the other is about the consideration of economic growth next year.
In terms of investment, investment in fixed assets in the first 11 months increased by 5.2% year-on-year, which was the same as last month. Among them, investment in manufacturing increased by 2.5%, investment in infrastructure increased by 4% and investment in real estate increased by 10.2%. Among them, investment in manufacturing and infrastructure is not growing fast. Of course, we also see that there is great potential for investment in China in the future. At present, the industrialization and urbanization of our country have not been completed, and the investment potential in the future is very huge. Especially in terms of industrial upgrading, with the evolution of industrial development to the middle and high end in the future, the investment of enterprises in R&D and e-commerce is increasing. If we look at it, in the first 11 months, the investment in R&D design service industry and e-commerce service industry all increased by double digits, which means that the industrial structure and manufacturing investment structure are optimized. In terms of infrastructure investment, although the growth rate of infrastructure investment is not very high, we still have great potential in infrastructure investment. After all, at present, our per capita infrastructure investment stock is not high compared with the world average. In the future, there is still a lot of investment space in the areas of people’s livelihood such as pension, education and medical care; A new generation of infrastructure, such as the Internet and communication 5G development, still has a relatively large space; There is also a lot of investment space in transportation construction such as railways, rail transit and urban parking lots. In the next stage, according to the deployment and requirements of the Central Economic Work Conference, all localities and departments should do relevant work well, and there should be more room for investment growth.
The second question is about economic growth next year. After 40 years of high-speed growth, China’s economy has now changed from the past high-speed growth to a medium-high-speed growth that meets the requirements of high-quality development. In the past, China’s high economic growth was achieved by a lot of resource consumption and investment. In the future, great changes have taken place in the economic development stage of China, which has changed from the growth characterized by high input and high consumption in the past to the development stage characterized by improving quality and efficiency, which means that our economic growth rate will not be as high as in the past. According to the requirements of high-quality development, if employment is sufficient, prices are stable, residents’ income is constantly increasing, the ecological environment is improving, the quality and efficiency of development are improving, and the economic growth rate is higher or lower, I think it is acceptable as long as it meets the requirements of the development stage. Thank you.
Xinhua News Agency China Economic Information Agency reporter:
In November, pork prices have dropped to some extent, but the consumption peak season of New Year’s Day and Spring Festival is coming soon. How do you predict the trend of pork prices? What impact does this have on CPI?
Fu Linghui:
Thank you. Everyone is more concerned about the price issue. In November, the CPI rose by 4.5% year-on-year, 0.7 percentage points higher than that of the previous month, mainly due to structural influences such as food prices. The price of food rose by more than 10% in that month, which was mainly driven by the price of pork. The price of pork in that month rose by 1.1 times year-on-year, and the influence of pork price was about 60%. The rise in pork prices will also drive up the price of related meat. In the face of rising pork prices, on the one hand, the State Council and local governments at all levels have introduced a series of measures to promote the expansion of production. For example, some positive changes have been seen in increasing pig production, expanding large-scale breeding, and gradually pushing all localities to cancel unreasonable measures to ban and limit raising. Judging from the month-on-month increase in pork prices in November, there has been a decline. On the other hand, relevant departments are also actively increasing pork imports and putting reserve pork into the market, which has also played an important role in stabilizing prices. At the same time, temporary price subsidies will be started in time to ensure the basic livelihood of the disadvantaged groups.
Judging from the future situation, it may take some time for the supply of live pigs to recover, and the high price operation may also last for some time. However, there are good conditions and foundations for food price stability. This year’s grain production has achieved another bumper harvest, with the annual grain output reaching 1,327.7 billion Jin, an increase of 0.9% over the previous year and a record high. Grain is an important foundation of food, and the stability of grain production plays a very important supporting role in the stability of food prices. With the effectiveness of a series of policies to support pig production, it can be expected that pork prices will gradually stabilize or even fall back. As far as other fresh foods are concerned, the overall supply is relatively sufficient. In November, the prices of fresh fruits and aquatic products were still falling. Judging from these circumstances, we feel that there are foundations and conditions for food prices to remain stable.
In addition, in addition to food prices, the prices of industrial consumer goods declined slightly in November, while the prices of services rose slightly. At present, the supply capacity of industrial consumer goods is very strong, and the supply of services is gradually increasing with the development of service industry. It is worthwhile to keep the price stable in the future.
Attack Yan Chun:
Do you still have any concerns? If not, today’s press conference is over. Thank you, Mr. Fu Linghui, and thank you all.
