NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS OF CHINA

February 28, 2005

In 2004, under the correct leadership of the Central Party Committee and the State Council, and guided by Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of “Three Represents”, people of all nationalities of China thoroughly implemented the spirit of the 16^th National Congress of CPC and the Third Plenary Session and the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16^th CPC Central Committee, fulfilled the scientific concept of development strategy in full swing and carefully carried out various measures set by the central government aiming at enhancing and improving macroeconomic regulation which led to remarkable achievements. Unstable and unhealthy factors in the economic performance were put under control. Those weak links existing in agriculture, infrastructure construction and social undertakings had been strengthened. Favorable turn was seen in agricultural production. The excessive investment growth in some industries had been curbed initially. Reform in various fields progressed steadily and China is opening wider to the outside world. New headways were made in employment, re-employment and social security programs. The living standard of urban and rural population continued to improve. National economy kept steady and rapid growth with accelerated development of various social undertakings. The main targets set forth for the economic and social development had been achieved.

I. General Outlook

Preliminary estimation indicated that the gross domestic product (GDP) of the year was 13,651.5 billion yuan, up by 9.5 percent over the previous year at comparable prices. The value-added of the primary industry was 2,074.4 billion yuan, up by 6.3 percent. The value-added of the secondary industry was 7,238.7 billion yuan, up by 11.1 percent. The value-added of the tertiary industry was 4,338.4 billion yuan, up by 8.3 percent. The contribution rates of the primary and the tertiary industries toward GDP growth were 9.2 percent and 29.0 percent respectively, or 5.2 and 2.8 percentage points higher as compared with that in the previous year.

The general level of consumer prices in China of the year was up by 3.9 percent over the previous year (Table 1). Of this total, the prices for service items were up 2.3 percent. The retail prices of commodities were up by 2.8 percent, while the producers’ prices for manufactured goods increased by 6.1 percent, and the purchasing prices for raw materials, fuels and power went up by 11.4 percent. The prices for investment in fixed assets were up 5.6 percent. Producers’ prices of farm products were up by 13.1 percent.

Table 1: Change in Consumer Prices in 2004 over 2003 (%)

In 2004, about 9.8 million new jobs were provided to urban residents, 800,000 more than the expected target, and 5.1 million laid-off workers were re-employed. Urban registered unemployment rate was 4.2 percent at the end of 2004, or 0.1 percentage point lower than that in 2003.

By the end of 2004, China’s foreign exchange reserves reached 609.9 billion US dollars, an increase of 206.7 billion US dollars as compared with that at the end of the pervious year. The exchange rate of RMB remained stable, the year-end exchange rate was 8.2765 RMB to 1 USD, which was 2 basic points higher over that at the end of the previous year.

Tax income of various forms for the whole year reached 2,571.8 billion yuan (excluding tariffs and agricultural taxes), up by 25.7 percent, an increase of 525.6 billion yuan over the previous year. The profits made by industrial enterprises above designated sized stood at 1,134.2 billion yuan, an increase of 38.1 percent over the previous year.

Main problems that existed in the economic and social development included: the unstable basis for agriculture, the difficulties in keeping the growth of grain production and rural household income; large number of newly started projects or projects under construction, high impulse of blind or overspread investment; high price rise for energy and raw materials; the tight relation between the supply and demand of energy and transportation, the occasional occurrence of severe accidents in production; the prominent phenomenon of resource waste and environmental pollution, and the relatively difficult life of some households.

II. Agriculture

In 2004, the sown areas of grain was 101.61 million hectares, an increase of 2.20 million hectares as compared with that in the previous year, and the sown areas of cotton was 5.69 million hectares, an increase of 580,000 hectares. The sown areas of oil-bearing crops was 14.52 million hectares, a decline of 470,000 hectares, the sown areas of sugar crops was 1.57 million hectares, a decrease of 90,000 hectares; and that for vegetables stood at 17.67 million hectares, a decline of 290,000 hectares.

The total output of grain in 2004 was 469.47 million tons, up by 38.77 million tons or 9.0 percent over the previous year. The output of cotton was 6.32 million tons, an increase of 30.1 percent; that of oil-bearing crops was 30.57 million tons, up by 8.8 percent. The output of sugar crops was 95.28 million tons, a decrease of 1.2 percent. Steady progress was seen in vegetable and fruits production due to expanded use of high quality varieties (Table 2).

Table 2: Output of Major Farm Products, 2004

The total output of meat for the year reached 72.60 million tons, up by 4.7 percent. Of this total, the output of beef and mutton was up 7.9 percent and 10.6 percent. The total output of aquatic products was 48.55 million tons, up by 3.2 percent.

Over 980,000 hectares of land were converted into farmland with effective irrigation system, another 1.30 million hectares of land were guaranteed by water-saving irrigation system.

III. Industry and Construction

In 2004, the total value-added of the industrial sector was 6,281.5 billion yuan, up by 11.5 percent over the previous year. The value-added of industrial enterprises above designated size was 5,480.5 billion yuan, up by 16.7 percent (Table 3). The sales ratio of industrial enterprises was 98.1 percent, or 0.2 percentage points higher than that in the previous year.

Table 3: Value-added of Industrial Enterprises above Designated Size, 2004

In 2004, the total output of primary energy reached 1,846 million tons of standard coal equivalent, up by 15.2 percent over the previous year. The electricity generated for the whole year was 2,187.0 billion kilowatt-hours, up by 14.5 percent. The output of coal was 1,956 million tons, up by 17.3 percent. The output of crude oil reached 175 million tons, up by 2.9 percent.

In 2004, the value-added of the smelting and pressing of ferrous metals was up 26.8 percent over the previous year; that of the nonferrous metals was up 22.4 percent; that of the raw chemical materials and chemical products and that of non-metal mineral products was up 18.2 and 19.9 percent respectively. Among major raw material products, the output of crude steel stood at 273 million tons, up by 22.7 percent; that of rolled steel was 297 million tons, up by 23.3 percent. The output of cement was 970 million tons, up by 12.5 percent. The production of 10 kinds of nonferrous metals went up by 16.4 percent; that of sulfuric acid, soda ash, caustic soda, ethylene and major chemical products increased from 2.4 percent to 18.5 percent.

In 2004, the value-added of the general equipment manufacturing industry was up by 22.2 percent over the previous year. The growth of electronic machinery and equipment manufacturing industry was 17.7 percent, and that of the transport equipment manufacturing industry was 14.0 percent. The production of large and medium-size tractors was up by 101.4 percent, and that of the power generating equipment was up by 92.9 percent. The total output of motor vehicles reached 5,074,000, an increase of 14.2 percent, of this total, the production of cars reached 2,314,000, up by 11.7 percent.

The value-added of high-tech industry was up 23.1 percent over the previous year. Of the high-tech industry, the growth of telecommunication equipment, computers and other electronic equipment was 26.9 percent. Of this total, the output of optical telecommunications facilities, program-controlled switchboards, mobile telephones and microcomputers rose by a range of 14.7 percent to 40.3 percent (Table 4).

Table 4: Output of Major Industrial Products, 2004

Among the industrial enterprises above designated size, the profits of state-owned and state-controlled enterprises stood at 531.2 billion yuan, up by 42.5 percent; that of the collective enterprises was 51.2 billion yuan, up by 31.3 percent. The profits made by share-holding enterprise reached 544.8 billion yuan, up by 39.4 percent; that of foreign invested enterprises and enterprises invested by investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan stood at 345.5 billion yuan, up by 25.5 percent, and that of the private enterprises was 123.7 billion yuan, up by 40.1 percent.

In 2004, the value-added of construction enterprises in China was 957.2 billion yuan, up by 8.1 percent over the previous year at comparable prices. The profits made by construction enterprises with qualification certificates through general contracts and specialized contracts reached 62.1 billion yuan, up by 19.5 percent, with their taxes paid reaching 95.9 billion yuan, up by 26.4 percent.

IV. Investment in Fixed Assets

The completed investment in fixed assets of the country in 2004 was 7,007.3 billion yuan, up by 25.8 percent over the previous year, or 1.9 percentage points lower as compared with the growth in 2003. Of the total investment, that in urban areas was up by 27.6 percent, and that in rural areas grew by 17.4 percent (Table 5).

 In terms of investment in different areas, the investment in eastern region was 4,024.2 billion yuan, up by 24.8 percent; that in central region was 1,512.6 billion yuan, up by 30.2 percent and that in western region was 1,374.9 billion yuan, up by 26.6 percent (Table 5).

Table 5: Investment in Fixed Assets, 2004

Of the investment in urban areas, the investment in the primary industry rose by 20.3 percent as compared with a 19.6 percent decline in 2003. The investment in the secondary industry grew by 38.3 percent, 8 percentage points lower as compared with that in the previous year, and that of the tertiary industry was up by 21.6 percent, or 0.5 percentage points lower.

Of all projects over 5 million yuan worth of investment in urban areas, the investment in the production of steel was up by 32.3 percent, it was 63.9 percentage points lower as compared with that in the previous year; that in aluminum production was down by 1.8 percent, as compared with a 86.6 percent growth in the previous year. The investment in cement went up by 43.3 percent, or 70.1 percentage points lower; vehicles, 53.5 percent, or 24.3 percentage points lower; textiles, 30.3 percent, or 56.4 percentage points lower over the previous year.

In 2004, the investment in real estate development was 1,315.8 billion yuan, up by 28.1 percent. The total sales of commercial buildings for the whole year reached 1,037.6 billion yuan, up by 30.3 percent. Of this total, the sales to individuals went up by 30.0 percent, accounting for 93.3 percent of the total sales of commercial buildings.

Major production capacity continued to increase (Table 6).

Table 6: Newly Increased Production Capacity through Investment in Capital Construction, 2004