China's H1 2026 GDP grows 4.7% with record incremental gain; high-tech manufacturing surges 13.3%

China's economy posted a gross domestic product of 69.6 trillion yuan in the first half of 2026, expanding 4.7% from a year earlier, according to the latest semiannual data. The year 2026 marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan, and the economy has maintained a generally stable trajectory with a shift toward higher quality and new drivers, despite a volatile external environment and overlapping domestic challenges.

The incremental GDP gain from the first half of 2025 reached 3.6 trillion yuan, the largest first-half increase in five years. Mao Shengyong, deputy head of the National Bureau of Statistics, said achieving 4.7% growth is commendable for a super-large economy. Key macroeconomic indicators stayed within reasonable ranges: the surveyed urban unemployment rate averaged 5.2%, unchanged from the same period last year and down 0.1 percentage point from the first quarter; the consumer price index rose 1.0% year-on-year, and the producer price index rose 1.5%, both moderate. Goods trade hit a new high, foreign exchange reserves remained above US$3.4 trillion, and the renminbi exchange rate appreciated about 3% from the start of the year.

New-driver industries contributed 47.9% of the growth in industrial value-added above designated size, led by high-tech manufacturing and digital product manufacturing. In the first half, value-added of high-tech manufacturing above designated size grew 13.3% year-on-year, with aerospace equipment manufacturing up 16.3% and electronics and communication equipment manufacturing up 17%. AI-related sectors such as integrated circuit manufacturing and smart vehicle equipment maintained growth above 30%. Integrated circuit output of industrial enterprises above designated size rose 23.1%, averaging over 1.5 billion units daily.

Traditional industries advanced green transformation and quality upgrades through digital and smart technologies. Biomass fuel processing and bio-based materials manufacturing rose 33% and 21.9%, respectively. The retail penetration rate of new energy vehicles exceeded 60% for three consecutive months. Value-added of specialized and sophisticated 'little giant' industrial enterprises above designated size grew 10.4% year-on-year. In late June, the World Economic Forum released its latest lighthouse factory list; half of the 16 new global lighthouse factories came from China, keeping the country at the top globally.

In investment, enterprises continued to increase spending on patents, software, and databases. Intellectual property product investment accounted for 13.8% of fixed-asset investment in the first half, up 1.4 percentage points from the first quarter. Smart, green, and health-related consumption is gradually emerging as a new trend.

All 31 provincial-level regions have released their first-half economic data. The top ten by GDP together accounted for over 60% of the national total, and ten major industrial provinces provided support with industrial value-added growth averaging around 7%. Anhui and Hubei led in industrial growth among major industrial provinces, with their high-tech manufacturing value-added surging 44.6% and 36.8% respectively.

A series of policies were implemented proactively: the State Council executive meeting arranged to accelerate the construction of an efficient and smooth modern logistics system; the central bank introduced measures including improving the short-end interest rate adjustment mechanism; and the 2026 list of 800 billion yuan in dual-emphasis investment projects and 200 billion yuan for equipment renewal have all been allocated. Wang Guanhua, deputy head of the National Bureau of Statistics' Department of National Economic Comprehensive Statistics, said the transition from old to new growth drivers is a systematic project requiring sustained effort. Going forward, all regions and departments will continue to pursue progress while ensuring stability, focusing on quality improvement and efficiency, expanding domestic demand, optimizing supply, and cultivating new growth drivers to achieve effective quality improvement and reasonable quantitative growth.