Defying global headwinds with a steady 5.2% growth in 2023, China's $17.79 trillion economy demonstrated its resilient heft through vibrant domestic consumption and explosive gains in high-tech sectors, even as it navigates complex demographic shifts and a transformative industrial landscape.
Key Takeaways
- China's nominal GDP reached 126.06 trillion CNY in 2023, equivalent to 17.79 trillion USD at current prices
- China's GDP growth rate was 5.2% in 2023, surpassing the annual target of around 5%
- GDP per capita in China stood at 89,358 CNY (12,614 USD) in 2023
- China's total exports of goods reached 3.38 trillion USD in 2023
- Total imports of goods into China were 2.56 trillion USD in 2023
- Trade surplus in goods was 823 billion USD for China in 2023
- China's total industrial output value increased 4.6% in 2023 to 139.9 trillion CNY
- Manufacturing PMI averaged 49.5 in 2023
- Steel production totaled 1.019 billion metric tons in 2023, down 1.7%
- China's FDI inflows totaled 163.24 billion USD in 2023, down 8.0%
- Actual utilized FDI in high-tech industries 82.13 billion USD in 2023, 50.3% of total
- FDI in services sector 97.79 billion USD in 2023, 59.9% share
- China's total employed population was 740.41 million in 2023
- Urban unemployment rate averaged 5.2% in 2023
- Surveyed urban unemployment rate 5.1% average in 2023
China’s economy grew steadily in 2023, driven by strong domestic demand.
Employment and Demographics
- China's total employed population was 740.41 million in 2023
- Urban unemployment rate averaged 5.2% in 2023
- Surveyed urban unemployment rate 5.1% average in 2023
- New urban jobs created 12.44 million in 2023
- Average weekly working hours 48.5 in 2023
- Per capita disposable income 39,218 CNY in 2023, up 6.3% nominally
- Urban per capita disposable income 51,821 CNY in 2023, up 5.1%
- Rural per capita disposable income 21,691 CNY in 2023, up 7.7%
- Youth unemployment rate (16-24) peaked at 21.3% in June 2023
- Labor force participation rate 66.1% in 2023
- Working age population (15-64) 968.9 million in 2023
- Total population 1.411 billion end-2023, down 2.08 million
- Birth rate 6.39 per 1000 in 2023
- Death rate 7.87 per 1000 in 2023
- Average wage in urban non-private units 120,698 CNY in 2023, up 5.8%
- Minimum wage in Beijing 2,420 CNY/month in 2023
- Migrant workers totaled 296.04 million in 2023
- Rural migrant workers 118.32 million in cities in 2023
- Female labor participation 60.5% in 2023
- Pension coverage 1.05 billion people end-2023
- Unemployment insurance beneficiaries 35.7 million in 2023
- Gig economy workers over 200 million in 2023
- College graduates 11.79 million in 2024 projection, but 2023 similar
- Labor contract coverage 96.5% of employed in 2023
- Trade union membership 303 million in 2023
- Workplace accident rate down 13.2% in 2023
- Overseas Chinese workers 1.2 million in 2023
- Dependency ratio 45.4% in 2023
- Life expectancy 78.2 years in 2023
Employment and Demographics Interpretation
China’s economy continues its high-wire act, juggling robust job creation and rising incomes with a shrinking population, a troubling youth unemployment spike, and a vast army of gig workers—all while its workforce clocks in nearly 50-hour weeks to keep the tightrope steady.
GDP and Growth
- China's nominal GDP reached 126.06 trillion CNY in 2023, equivalent to 17.79 trillion USD at current prices
- China's GDP growth rate was 5.2% in 2023, surpassing the annual target of around 5%
- GDP per capita in China stood at 89,358 CNY (12,614 USD) in 2023
- Primary industry contributed 7.1% to China's GDP in 2023 with value added of 8.975 trillion CNY
- Secondary industry accounted for 39.9% of GDP in 2023, totaling 50.248 trillion CNY in value added
- Tertiary industry made up 53.0% of China's GDP in 2023, with 66.836 trillion CNY in value added
- China's GDP PPP was estimated at 30.3 trillion international dollars in 2023 by World Bank
- Final consumption expenditure contributed 82.5% to GDP growth in 2023
- Capital formation drove 27.0% of GDP growth in China in 2023
- Net exports contributed -9.5% to China's GDP growth in 2023
- China's GDP growth in Q4 2023 was 5.2% year-on-year
- Annual GDP growth forecast for China in 2024 by IMF is 4.6%
- China's GDP in 2022 was 121.02 trillion CNY, up 3.0% from 2021
- Beijing's GDP reached 4.4 trillion CNY in 2023, growing 5.2%
- Shanghai's nominal GDP was 4.72 trillion CNY in 2023
- Guangdong province GDP hit 13.57 trillion CNY in 2023
- Jiangsu GDP was 12.82 trillion CNY in 2023
- China's GDP share in world total was 18.6% at PPP in 2023
- Real GDP growth in manufacturing sector was 6.2% in 2023
- Construction sector GDP growth was 6.0% in 2023
- Wholesale and retail GDP growth was 6.5% in 2023
- Transport, storage, post GDP growth 7.8% in 2023
- Accommodation and catering GDP growth 14.2% in 2023
- Financial intermediation GDP growth 7.3% in 2023
- Real estate GDP growth -0.3% in 2023
- China's GDP deflator was 0.2% in 2023
- GDP growth target for 2023 was around 5%, achieved at 5.2%
- China's GDP in constant 2015 prices grew 5.2% in 2023
- Contribution of household consumption to growth was 4.3 percentage points in 2023
- Government consumption contribution to GDP growth 0.4 ppt in 2023
GDP and Growth Interpretation
China is now such a dominant economic engine that even with its property sector wheezing and exports dragging, its massive domestic consumption and bustling services industry can still power it to a growth rate that makes other major economies look like they're parked in neutral.
Investment and Finance
- China's FDI inflows totaled 163.24 billion USD in 2023, down 8.0%
- Actual utilized FDI in high-tech industries 82.13 billion USD in 2023, 50.3% of total
- FDI in services sector 97.79 billion USD in 2023, 59.9% share
- New FDI contracts signed 1.1 trillion CNY in 2023, up 0.6%
- Fixed asset investment grew 3.0% in 2023 to 51.3 trillion CNY
- Infrastructure investment up 5.9% in 2023
- Manufacturing investment increased 9.6% in 2023
- Real estate investment down 9.6% in 2023
- Private fixed asset investment up 0.3% in 2023
- Shanghai Stock Exchange composite index averaged 3,100 points in 2023
- Shenzhen Stock Exchange turnover 50.3 trillion CNY in 2023
- M2 money supply grew 10.4% year-on-year in Dec 2023
- Total social financing stock 378.12 trillion CNY end-2023, up 9.7%
- Bank loans outstanding 240.4 trillion CNY end-2023, up 10.8%
- Foreign exchange reserves 3.238 trillion USD end-2023
- Overseas direct investment outflow 147.91 billion USD in 2023, up 1.2%
- Non-financial ODI 146.82 billion USD in 2023
- Bond issuance total 9.48 trillion CNY in 2023
- Local government bonds issued 3.995 trillion CNY in 2023
- Venture capital deals 7,648 in 2023, investment 1.3 trillion CNY
- PE investment 1.15 trillion CNY in 2023
- Renminbi cross-border payments 45.07 trillion CNY in 2023, up 24.2%
- Gold reserves 2,262 tons end-2023
- Insurance premiums collected 4.9 trillion CNY in 2023, up 9.1%
- Pension fund assets 7.5 trillion CNY end-2023
- Mutual fund AUM 28.6 trillion CNY end-2023
- Corporate bond default rate 0.8% in 2023
- Fintech lending balance 19.5 trillion CNY end-2023
- Belt and Road investment 34.37 billion USD in 2023
Investment and Finance Interpretation
Despite the property market's gloomy dive, China's economic engines—from high-tech manufacturing to Belt & Road ambition—are humming with strategic, state-directed vigor, even as overall FDI cools and private capital hesitates on the sidelines.
Manufacturing and Industry
- China's total industrial output value increased 4.6% in 2023 to 139.9 trillion CNY
- Manufacturing PMI averaged 49.5 in 2023
- Steel production totaled 1.019 billion metric tons in 2023, down 1.7%
- Cement output was 2.22 billion tons in 2023, down 7.2%
- Automobile production reached 30.16 million units in 2023, up 11.6%
- New energy vehicle production 9.59 million units in 2023, up 35.8%
- Smartphone production 1.31 billion units in 2023
- Semiconductor sales revenue 1.15 trillion CNY in 2023, up 13.5%
- Lithium battery output 786.9 GWh in 2023, up 39.9%
- Solar cell production 865 GW in 2023, up 53.8%
- Wind turbine manufacturing capacity exceeded 100 GW in 2023
- Shipbuilding output 36.87 million DWT in 2023, 57.5% of global
- Textile industry output value 14.5 trillion CNY in 2023
- Chemical fiber production 77.7 million tons in 2023, up 12.5%
- Ethylene production 29.44 million tons in 2023, up 5.3%
- Coal production 4.66 billion tons in 2023, up 2.8%
- Electricity generation 9.45 trillion kWh in 2023, up 6.7%
- High-speed rail freight volume 3.4 billion ton-km in 2023
- Industrial robot installations 290,000 units in 2023, 52% of global
- 5G base stations reached 3.76 million by end-2023
- PV module production capacity 1.2 TW in 2023
- Rare earth production 240,000 tons in 2023, 70% global
- Aluminum production 42.5 million tons in 2023, down 3.6%
- Glass production 950 million weight cases in 2023
- Pharmaceutical industry revenue 2.99 trillion CNY in 2023, up 5.3%
- Aviation manufacturing deliveries 802 aircraft in 2023
- Heavy truck production 1.15 million units in 2023, up 10.3%
- Machine tool output value 986 billion CNY in 2023, up 8.1%
- Petrochemical capacity additions 15 million tpa ethylene equivalent in 2023
Manufacturing and Industry Interpretation
China’s industrial engine is roaring like a dragon with an electric motor, its old smokestack muscles twitching slightly as its digital nerves and green-energy sinews surge forward.
Trade and Exports
- China's total exports of goods reached 3.38 trillion USD in 2023
- Total imports of goods into China were 2.56 trillion USD in 2023
- Trade surplus in goods was 823 billion USD for China in 2023
- Exports to ASEAN countries totaled 523.7 billion USD in 2023, up 1.1%
- Imports from ASEAN were 388.4 billion USD in 2023, up 2.1%
- EU was China's largest export market with 561.9 billion USD in goods exports in 2023
- US imports from China totaled 500.6 billion USD in 2023, down 11.6%
- Exports to Belt and Road countries reached 1.1617 trillion USD in 2023, up 2.8%
- Imports from Belt and Road partners were 1.0327 trillion USD in 2023, up 1.6%
- Mechanical and electrical products exports were 2.03 trillion USD in 2023, 60.1% of total exports
- High-tech product exports totaled 1.06 trillion USD in 2023, up 4.0%
- China's services trade deficit was 218.3 billion USD in 2023
- Exports of services grew 11.2% in 2023 to 381.4 billion USD
- Imports of services rose 12.9% to 599.7 billion USD in 2023
- Travel services exports recovered to 122.5 billion USD in 2023
- Transport services imports up 24.3% in 2023
- Total trade volume in goods and services was 6.618 trillion USD in 2023
- Soybean imports totaled 99.4 million tons in 2023, valued at 62.8 billion USD
- Crude oil imports were 11.3 million bpd average in 2023
- Integrated circuit imports reached 385.6 billion USD in 2023
- Exports of new energy vehicles surged 77.6% to 1.2 million units in 2023
- Lithium-ion battery exports up 29.9% in 2023
- Solar panel exports totaled 195 GW in 2023
- Textile exports down 7.1% in 2023
- Steel exports reached 90.3 million tons in 2023
- China's share of global exports was 14.4% in 2023
- Trade with RCEP countries grew 1.7% in 2023
- Exports to Latin America up 0.7% in 2023
- Imports of iron ore 1.2 billion tons in 2023
- Copper imports 6.6 million tons in 2023
Trade and Exports Interpretation
China's trade engine continues to run on premium fuel—high-tech and green tech exports are surging—even as its overall export dominance faces headwinds in key Western markets, forcing a strategic pivot toward its Belt and Road and ASEAN neighbors to keep its massive industrial output moving.
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