A noteworthy 21 provinces reported an average disposable income exceeding 30,000 yuan (about US$4,222), with seven surpassing the 40,000 yuan (US$5,629) mark. Remarkably, both Shanghai and Beijing have crossed the substantial threshold of 80,000 yuan (US$11,257).

The data, disclosed on January 17, 2024, illuminates the national average disposable income at 39,218 yuan (US$5,519), marking a nominal increase of 6.3% from the previous year.

After adjusting for inflation, the real growth stands at 6.1%. Urban residents enjoyed a higher average disposable income of 51,821 yuan, a 5.1% nominal growth, translating to a 4.8% real increase. Meanwhile, rural inhabitants saw their income climb to 21,691 yuan, boasting a more robust growth of 7.7% nominally and 7.6% in real terms.

Drilling down to provincial specifics, eight provinces outpaced the national average, predominantly from the affluent eastern coastal regions, including Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Tianjin, Guangdong, Fujian, and Shandong.

Shanghai and Beijing stand out, with incomes soaring above 80,000 yuan, at 84,834 yuan and 81,752 yuan respectively, highlighting a significant gap with other provinces.

This income disparity underscores the economic might of Shanghai and Beijing, where high urbanization rates, advanced service sectors, cutting-edge technology industries, and a concentration of high-paying jobs attract a wealth of talent.

These cities dominate in lucrative sectors like information transmission, software, information technology services, financial services, and scientific research, contributing to their high average incomes.

Following Shanghai and Beijing, Zhejiang claims the third spot with an average disposable income of 63,830 yuan.

Ding Changfa, an associate professor of economics at Xiamen University, attributes this to Zhejiang’s thriving private economy and small urban-rural income disparity, fuelled by industrial clusters across numerous counties. This prosperity often translates into higher investment rates among residents, further boosting their income through asset gains.

The rankings continue with Jiangsu, Tianjin, Guangdong, Fujian, Shandong, Inner Mongolia, and Liaoning, delineating a clear economic pecking order.

Notably, Inner Mongolia, Chongqing, Hunan, Hubei, and Anhui lead the central and western regions, reflecting their advanced industrialization and urbanization levels.

In 2019, GDP in China’s eastern areas was 51,116.1 billion yuan, an increase of 6.2% compared with the previous year; the central areas, 21,873.8 billion yuan, up by 7.3%; the western areas, 20,518.5 billion yuan, up by 6.7%; and the northeastern areas, 5,024.9 billion yuan, up by 4.5%.

In 2019, the GDP in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region reached 8,458.0 billion yuan, up by 6.1% over the previous year; that in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, 45,780.5 billion yuan, up by 6.9%; and that in the Yangtze River Delta, 23,725.3 billion yuan, up by 6.4%.

The value added of the primary industry was 7,046.7 billion yuan accounting for 7.1% of total GDP, up by 3.1%; the secondary industry was 38,616.5 billion yuan (39% of total GDP), up by 5.7%; and, the tertiary industry was 53,423.3 billion yuan (53.9%), up by 6.9%.

The contribution of the final consumption expenditure to GDP was 57.8%, that of the gross capital formation 31.2 percent and that of the net exports of goods and services 11.0 percent.

The per capita GDP in 2019 was 70,892 yuan, up by 5.7% compared with the previous year. The gross national income in 2019 was 98,845.8 billion yuan, up by 6.2% over the previous year.

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The national energy consumption per 10,000 yuan worth of GDP went down by 2.6 percent over 2018, and the overall labor productivity reached 115,009 yuan per person in 2019, up by 6.2% over the previous year.

By the end of 2019, the total number of Chinese population at the mainland reached 1,400.05 million, an increase of 4.67 million over that at the end of 2018. Of this total, urban permanent residents totaled 848.43 million, accounting for 60.60% of the total population (the urbanization rate of permanent residents), 1.02 percentage points higher than 2018.

The urbanization rate of the population with household registration was 44.38%, 1.01 percentage points higher than 2018. The year 2019 saw 14.65 million births, a crude birth rate of 10.48 per thousand, and 9.98 million deaths, a crude death rate of 7.14 per thousand.

The natural growth rate was 3.34 per thousand. The population who lived in places other than their household registration areas reached 280 million, of which 236 million were floating population.

At the end of 2019, the number of employed people in China was 774.71 million, and that in urban areas was 442.47 million, accounting for 57.1%, 1.1 percentage points higher than the end of 2018.

The newly increased employed people in urban areas reached 13.52 million, 90 thousand less than the previous year. The surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.2% at the year end, and the registered urban unemployment rate was 3.6%.

The total number of migrant workers in 2019 was 290.77 million, up by 0.8% over that of 2018. Specifically, the number of migrant workers who left their hometowns and worked in other places was 174.25 million, up by 0.9%, and those who worked in their own localities reached 116.52 million, up by 0.7%.

The consumer prices in 2019 went up by 2.9% over the previous year. The producer prices for industrial products went down by 0.3% and the purchasing prices for industrial producers down by 0.7 percent. The prices for investment in fixed assets increased by 2.6 percent. The producer prices for farm products increased by 14.5%.

In December 2019, out of the 70 large-and-medium-sized cities, 68 cities experienced a year-on-year rise in sales prices of new commercial residential buildings and two cities experienced a decline.

At the end of 2019, China’s foreign exchange reserves reached US$3,107.9 billion, an increase of US$35.2 billion compared with 2018. The average exchange rate of the year was 6.8985 RMB to 1 USD dollar, depreciated by 4.1% over that of 2018.

By the rural poverty line of annual per capita income of 2,300 yuan (at 2010 constant prices), the rural population living in poverty at the end of 2019 was 5.51 million, 11.09 million less compared with that at the end of 2018, and the incidence of poverty was 0.6 percent, 1.1 percentage points lower than that of the previous year.

In 2019, the per capita disposable income of rural residents in impoverished areas was 11,567 yuan, an increase of 11.5% over 2018, or a real increase of 8.0% after deducting price factors.

Industry and Construction

In 2019, the total value added of the industrial sector was 31,710.9 billion yuan, up by 5.7% over the previous year. The value added of industrial enterprises above the designated size increased by 5.7 percent.

Of the industrial enterprises above the designated size, in terms of ownership, the value added of the state-holding enterprises grew by 4.8%, that of the share-holding enterprises up by 6.8%, that of the enterprises funded by foreign investors and investors from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan up by 2.0% and that of private enterprises up by 7.7%.

In terms of sectors, the value added of the mining industry was up by 5.0 percent, that of manufacturing up by 6.0 percent and that of production and supply of electricity, heat power, gas and water up by 7.0 percent.

In 2019, of the industrial enterprises above the designated size, the value added for processing of food from agricultural and sideline products was up by 1.9 percent over the previous year;

• for textile industry up by 1.3 percent;
• for manufacture of raw chemical materials and chemical products up by 4.7 percent;
• for manufacture of non-metallic mineral products up by 8.9 percent;
• for smelting and pressing of ferrous metals up by 9.9 percent;
• for manufacture of general purpose machinery up by 4.3 percent;
• for manufacture of special purpose machinery up by 6.9 percent;
• for manufacture of automobiles up by 1.8 percent;
• for manufacture of electrical machinery and apparatus up by 10.7 percent;
• for manufacture of computers, communication equipment and other electronic equipment up by 9.3 percent;
• for production and supply of electricity and heat power up by 6.5 percent

In 2019, the profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size were 6,199.6 billion yuan, down by 3.3 percent over the previous year.

By ownership, the profits of state-holding enterprises were 1,635.6 billion yuan, down by 12.0 percent over the previous year; those of share-holding enterprises were 4,528.4 billion yuan, down by 2.9 percent; those of enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan were 1,558.0 billion yuan, down by 3.6 percent; and those of private enterprises were 1,818.2 billion yuan, up by 2.2 percent.

In terms of different sectors, the profits of mining were 527.5 billion yuan, up by 1.7 percent over the previous year; those of manufacturing were 5,190.4 billion yuan, down by 5.2 percent; and those of the production and supply of electricity, heat power, gas and water were 481.6 billion yuan, up by 15.4 percent. In 2019, the cost for per-hundred-yuan business revenue of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was 84.08 yuan, or 0.18 yuan more than that of 2018; the profit rate of the business revenue was 5.86 percent, down by 0.43 percentage points.

In 2019, the value added of construction enterprises in China was 7,090.4 billion yuan, up by 5.6 percent over the previous year. The profits made by construction enterprises qualified for general contracts and specialized contracts reached 838.1 billion yuan, up by 5.1 percent over the previous year, of which the profits made by state-holding enterprises were 258.5 billion yuan, up by 14.5 percent.

Service Sector

In 2019, the value added of the wholesale and retail trades was 9,584.6 billion yuan, up by 5.7 percent over the previous year; that of transport, storage and post was 4,280.2 billion yuan, up by 7.1 percent; that of hotels and catering services was 1,804.0 billion yuan, up by 6.3 percent; that of financial intermediation was 7,707.7 billion yuan, up by 7.2 percent; that of real estate was 6,963.1 billion yuan, up by 3.0 percent; that of information transmission, software and information technology services was 3,269.0 billion yuan, up by 18.7 percent; and that of leasing and business services was 3,293.3 billion yuan, up by 8.7 percent.

In 2019, the business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size grew by 9.4 percent over the previous year, and the operating profits grew by 5.4 percent.

The turnover of telecommunication services totaled 10,678.9 billion yuan, up by 62.9 percent over the previous year.

By the end of 2019, there were 1,792.38 million phone subscribers in China, 1,601.34 million of which were mobile phone subscribers. Mobile phone coverage rose to 114.4 sets per 100 persons.

The number of fixed broadband internet users reached 449.28 million, an increase of 41.90 million over the end of the previous year. Of this total, fixed fiber-optic broadband internet users amounted to 417.40 million, an increase of 49.07 million.

The mobile internet traffic in 2019 was 122.0 billion gigabytes, up by 71.6 percent over the previous year. Software revenue from software and information technology services industry in 2019 was 7,176.8 billion yuan, up by 15.4 percent over 2018.

China retail in 2019

Investment in Fixed Assets

The total investment in fixed assets of the country in 2019 was 56,087.4 billion yuan, up by 5.1 percent over the previous year.

Of the total, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) was 55,147.8 billion yuan, up by 5.4 percent. By regions, the investment in eastern areas was up by 4.1 percent over the previous year, central areas up by 9.5 percent, western areas up by 5.6 percent, and northeastern areas down by 3.0 percent.

In 2019, the investment in real estate development was 13,219.4 billion yuan, up by 9.9 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the investment in residential buildings reached 9,707.1 billion yuan, an increase of 13.9 percent, that in office buildings was 616.3 billion yuan, up by 2.8 percent, and that in buildings for commercial business was 1,322.6 billion yuan, down by 6.7 percent.

China Import & Export

The total value of imports and exports of goods in 2019 reached 31,550.5 billion yuan, up by 3.4 percent over that of the previous year.

Of this total, the value of goods exported was 17,234.2 billion yuan, up by 5.0 percent; the value of goods imported was 14,316.2 billion yuan, up by 1.6 percent. The surplus of trade in goods reached 2,918.0 billion yuan, up by 593.2 billion yuan over that of the previous year.

The total value of imports and exports between China and countries along the Belt and Road was 9,269.0 billion yuan, an increase of 10.8 percent over that of the previous year. Of the total, the value of goods exported was 5,258.5 billion yuan, an increase of 13.2 percent; that of goods imported was 4,010.5 billion yuan, an increase of 7.9 percent.

Households Income and Consumption

In 2019, the per capita disposable income nationwide was 30,733 yuan, an increase of 8.9 percent over that of the previous year or a real increase of 5.8 percent after deducting price factors.

The median of per capita disposable income nationwide was 26,523 yuan, up by 9.0 percent.

In terms of usual residence, the per capita disposable income of urban households was 42,359 yuan, up by 7.9 percent over that of 2018, or a real growth of 5.0 percent after deducting price factors.

The median of per capita disposable income of urban households was 39,244 yuan, up by 7.8 percent.

The per capita disposable income of rural households was 16,021 yuan, up by 9.6 percent over that of the previous year, or 6.2 percent in real terms after deducting price factors. The median of per capita disposable income of rural households was 14,389 yuan, up by 10.1 percent.

Grouped by income quintile, the per capita disposable income of low-income groups reached 7,380 yuan, the lower-middle-income group 15,777 yuan, the middle-income group 25,035 yuan, the upper-middle-income group 39,230 yuan and the high-income group 76,401 yuan.

The per capita monthly income of migrant workers was 3,962 yuan, increased by 6.5 percent over that of the previous year.

Science & Technology

Expenditures on research and experimental development activities (R&D) were worth 2,173.7 billion yuan in 2019, up by 10.5 percent over that of 2018, accounting for 2.19 percent of GDP.

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The gross domestic product (GDP) of China was 45,093.3 billion yuan (US$6,565.68 billion) in the first half of 2019, a year-on-year increase of 6.3% at comparable prices according to the preliminary estimates of National Bureau of Statistics of China. The year-on-year GDP growth for the first quarter was 6.4 percent, and 6.2% for the second quarter.

The value-added of the primary industry was 2,320.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 3.0%; the secondary industry was 17,998.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 5.8%; and the tertiary industry was 24,774.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 7.0%.

Agricultural Production

In the first half of 2019, the value-added of crop farming grew by 3.9% year on year, 0.5 percentage point slower than the first quarter. The overall output of summer grain was 141.74 million tons, an increase of 2.93 million tons over last year, up by 2.1 percent, hitting the highest record as that of 2017.

The structure of crop farming was further optimized, as planting area for cotton and soybean increased. In the first half, the output of eggs grew by 3.6% year on year, and that of milk grew by 1.7%. The output of pork, beef, mutton, and poultry was 39.11 million tons, down by 2.1 percent, among which, the output of beef, mutton and poultry grew by 2.4 percent, 1.5% and 5.6% year on year respectively, while the output of pork went down by 5.5%.

Industrial Production

In the first half, the year-on-year growth rate of total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was 6.0 percent, 0.5 percentage point slower than the first quarter.

In June, the year-on-year growth rate of total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was 6.3 percent, 1.3 percentage points faster than that of May, up by 0.68% month on month.

An analysis by types of ownership showed that the value-added of the state holding enterprises went up by 5.0% year on year; that of share-holding enterprises up by 7.3%; and enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan up by 1.4%.

In terms of sectors, the value-added of the mining grew by 3.5% year on year, the manufacturing grew by 6.4% and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas, and water grew by 7.3%. The value-added of strategic emerging industries grew by 7.7 percent, 1.7 percentage points faster than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size.

The value-added of high-tech manufacturing grew by 9.0 percent, 3.0 percentage points faster than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size, accounting for 13.8% of the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size, 0.8 percentage point higher than that of the same period last year.

The output of new energy vehicles and solar cells grew by 34.6% and 20.1% year on year.

In the first five months of 2019, the total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size was 2,379.0 billion yuan, down by 2.3% year on year, 1.1 percentage points less than that of the first four months. The profits of industrial enterprises above the designated size in May grew by 1.1 percent, while that for April was down by 3.7% year on year.

The profit rate of the business revenue of industrial enterprises above the designated size was 5.72 percent, 0.2 percentage point higher than that of the first four months in 2019.

Service Sector Grew Fast

In the first half, the service sector maintained good momentum. The value-added of information transmission, software, and information technology services, that of leasing and business services, that of transport, storage and postal services, and that of financial intermediation grew by 20.6 percent, 7.8 percent, 7.3% and 7.3% year on year respectively, or 13.6 percentage points, 0.8 percentage point, 0.3 percentage point and 0.3 percentage point faster than that of the tertiary industry.

In the first half of 2019, the Index of Services Production increased by 7.3% year on year, 0.1 percentage point lower than that of the first quarter; specifically, that for June grew by 7.1 percent, 0.1 percentage point faster than that of May.

In June, the Business Activity Index for services was 53.4 percent, continuing to stay above the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction. The Business Activities Expectation Index for services was 60.3 percent, staying at a high level.

In the first five months, the business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size increased by 10.1% year on year, 0.3 percentage point faster than that of the first four months; specifically, the business revenue of strategic emerging services, high-tech services and technology services demonstrated fast growth, which increased by 12.5 percent, 12.3% and 12.0% respectively, or 2.4 percentage points, 2.2 percentage points and 1.9 percentage points faster than the growth of the service enterprises above the designated size.

Market Sales Demonstrated a Stable and Rising Trend with Higher Growth Rate and Share for Online Retail Sales

Investment Witnessed Steady Growth and the Investment in High-tech Industries Grew Fast

In the first half, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 29,910.0 billion yuan, up by 5.8% year on year, 0.2 percentage point faster than that of the first five months, or 0.5 percentage point slower than that of the first quarter.

Specifically, the private investment reached 18,028.9 billion yuan, up by 5.7%. The investment in the primary industry went down by 0.6%; the secondary industry went up by 2.9 percent, among which, that in manufacturing went up by 3.0%; the tertiary industry went up by 7.4 percent, among which, that in infrastructure was up by 4.1%.

The investment in the high-tech manufacturing industry increased by 10.4 percent, 4.6 percentage points faster than the total investment; the investment in high-tech services went up by 13.5 percent, 7.7 percentage points faster than the total investment. In June, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) grew by 0.44% month on month.

In the first half, the total investment in real estate development was 6,160.9 billion yuan, up by 10.9 percent, or 0.9 percentage point slower than that of the first quarter. The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 757.86 million square meters, down by 1.8% year-on-year. The total sales of commercial buildings were 7,069.8 billion yuan, up by 5.6 percent, maintaining the same speed as that of the first quarter.

Imports and Exports Showed Slight Growth

In the first half, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 14,667.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.9 percent, 0.2 percentage point faster than the first quarter.

The total value of exports was 7,952.1 billion yuan, up by 6.1%; the total value of imports was 6,715.5 billion yuan, up by 1.4%. The trade balance was 1,236.6 billion yuan in surplus, up by 41.6% year on year.

The import and export of general trade increased by 5.5 percent, accounting for 59.9% of the total value of the imports and exports, an increase of 0.9 percentage point compared with the same period last year.

The exports of mechanical and electrical products increased by 5.3 percent, accounting for 58.2% of the total value of exports. The total value of imports and exports by private enterprises increased by 11.0 percent, accounting for 41.7% of the total value, 2.7 percentage points higher than the same period last year.

In June, the total value of imports and exports was 2,561.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%. The total value of exports was 1,453.5 billion yuan, up by 6.1 percent, and the total value of imports was 1,108.3 billion yuan, down by 0.4%.

In the first half, the export delivery value of industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 5,836.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%. In June, the export delivery value of industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 1,055.5 billion yuan, up by 1.9 percent, 1.2 percentage points faster than that of May.

Consumer Price

In the first half, the consumer price went up by 2.2% year on year, 0.4 percentage point faster than the first quarter.

Specifically, the price went up by 2.2% both in the urban and rural areas. Grouped by commodity categories, prices for food, tobacco and alcohol went up by 3.9% year on year; clothing up by 1.8%; housing up by 2.0%; articles and services for daily use up by 1.1%; transportation and communication down by 1.0%; education, culture and recreation up by 2.5%; medical services and health care up by 2.6%; other articles and services up by 2.2%.

In terms of food, tobacco and alcohol prices, prices for grain went up by 0.5 percent, pork up by 7.7 percent, fresh vegetables up by 9.2%. Core CPI excluding the price of food and energy went up by 1.8% year on year, 0.1 percentage point lower than that of the first quarter.

In June, the consumer price went up by 2.7% year on year, increasing at the same speed as last month, and down by 0.1% month on month.

In the first half of 2019, the producer prices for industrial products went up by 0.3% year on year, 0.1 percentage point faster than the first quarter. In June, the producer prices for industrial products were unchanged compared with the same period last year, down by 0.3 percentage month on month.

In the first half, the purchasing prices for industrial producers went up by 0.1% year on year, increasing at the same speed as the first quarter. In June, the prices dropped by 0.3% year on year and down by 0.1% month on month.

Employment

In the first half, the newly increased employed people in urban areas totaled 7.37 million, accounting for 67% of the whole-year target. In June, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 5.1 percent, 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous month.

Specifically, the surveyed unemployment rate of the population aged from 25 to 59 was 4.6 percent, 0.5 percentage point lower than that of the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas. The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.0 percent, the same as the previous month.

In June, the employees of enterprises worked averagely 45.7 hours per week. At the end of the second quarter, the number of rural migrant workers reached 182.48 million, an increase of 2.26 million over the same period last year, up by 1.3 percent, and 0.1 percentage point faster than the first quarter.

Residents Income Grew Faster than Economic Growth and Urban-Rural Income Ratio Continued to Narrow Down.

In the first half, the nationwide per capita disposable income of residents was 15,294 yuan, a nominal growth of 8.8% year on year, 0.1 percentage point faster than that of the first quarter; the real increase was 6.5% after deducting price factors, 0.2 percentage point higher than the economic growth.

In terms of permanent residence, the per capita disposable income of urban households was 21,342 yuan, real growth of 5.7%. The per capita disposable income of rural households was 7,778 yuan, real growth of 6.6%.

The per capita disposable income of urban households was 2.74 times of the rural households, 0.03 less than that of the same period last year. The median of the nationwide per capita disposable income was 13,281 yuan, a nominal increase of 9.0% year-on-year.

Views from Global Media

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