1.    China’s GDP grow by 6.3% in the second quarter and 5.5% in the first half of 2023

According to the Preliminary data released by the National Bureau of Statistics in the first half of 2023, China’s GDP reached 59,3034 trillion yuan. Accounting for constant prices, this represents a year-on-year increase of 5.5%. Analyzing by industry, the added value of the primary industry was 3.0416 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%; the added value of the secondary industry was 23.0682 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.3%; the added value of the tertiary industry was 33.1937 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.4%. Assessing by quarter, the year-on-year GDP growth was 4.5% in Q1 and 6.3% in Q2.

2.    China’s Import and Export both dropped significantly in June

In June, China’s imports and exports both declined, the trade surplus continued to narrow, exports to ASEAN, EU, US, and Japan all fell, while car exports significantly increased. The import sector of integrated circuits has shown a moderate month-on-month recovery, but still declined year-on-year.

On July 13th, the General Administration of Customs released data showing that in US dollar terms, China’s imports and exports amounted to 500.02 billion USD in June, a year-on-year decrease of 10.1%. Exports were 285.32 billion USD, a y-o-y decrease of 12.4%; imports were 214.70 billion USD, a y-o-y decrease of 6.8%, and the trade surplus was 70.62 billion USD, a decline of 27.89%.

3.    China’s CPI remained the same y-o-y and dropped 0.2% compared to May

In June 2023, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for residents across China remained stable compared to the same period last year. The CPI figure for urban areas was steady, while rural areas saw a decrease of 0.1%; food prices rose by 2.3%, non-food prices fell by 0.6%; consumer goods prices fell by 0.5%, and service prices increased by 0.7%. On average, from January to June, the national consumer price index increased by 0.7% compared to the same period last year.

On a month-to-month basis, both urban and rural areas saw a decrease of 0.2%; food prices fell by 0.5%, non-food prices fell by 0.1%; consumer goods prices fell by 0.3%, and service prices increased by 0.1%.

So while most parts of the world is struggling with inflation, China is battling deflation.

4.    China’s per capita disposable income of residents for the first half of 2023 was 19,672 yuan

In the first half of 2023, per capita disposable income of residents amounted to 19,672 yuan (~2,743USD), a nominal increase of 6.5% compared to the same period last year. Chinese urban resident’s disposable income increased 5.4% to 26,357 yuan, while rural resident’s disposable income increased 7.8% to 10,551 yuan.

In the first half of 2023, the per capita consumption expenditure was 12,739 yuan, a nominal increase of 8.4% compared to the same period last year. After deducting price factors, the actual increase was 7.6%.

The per capita expenditure on food, tobacco, and alcohol of residents nationwide was 3,907 yuan, accounting for 30.7%; per capita clothing expenditure was 764 yuan, accounting for 6.0%; per capita housing expenditure was 2,949 yuan, accounting for 23.2%; per capita consumption expenditure on daily necessities and services was 722 yuan, accounting for 5.7%; per capita transportation and communication expenditure was 1,630 yuan, accounting for 12.8%; per capita education, culture, and entertainment expenditure was 1,205 yuan, accounting for 9.5%; per capita medical care expenditure was 1,219 yuan, accounting for 9.6%; per capita expenditure on other goods and services was 342 yuan, accounting for 2.7%.

If you look at above figures, such as 457 USD per month disposable income you can hardly consider China as a developed country.

5.    COMAC’s second C919 aircraft delivered to China Eastern Airlines

China’s second domestically developed C919 narrow-body aircraft was delivered to its operator China Eastern airlines on 16th July. It is the second of five C919 aircraft China Eastern airlines has purchased from COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corp of China) with the same cabin layout. The aircraft will join the first one to fly the route between Shanghai and Chengdu.

Since the very first commercial flight on 28th May until 12th July, the first C919 aircraft has performed 87 commercial flights in total, including 2 flights on the Beijing-Shanghai route, and 85 flights on the Shanghai-Chengdu route. The average passenger load factor was nearly 80%, serving a cumulative total of 11,095 passengers, and accumulating 250 hours of commercial operation.

According to public information from COMAC, the number of orders for the C919 has exceeded 1,200 units. It is projected that the annual production capacity of the C919 will reach 150 units over the next five years.