Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on August 17 indicates that the national economy operated smoothly from January to July this year, maintaining a trajectory of new momentum and structural improvement. Notably, emerging sectors, including high-tech manufacturing and digital products, contributed to 50.9% of the growth in industrial output above a designated scale. Artificial intelligence has become a critical accelerator in the transition between old and new growth drivers, empowering various industries.

As the potential of new momentum is unleashed, investment in new tracks is also expanding and improving in quality. Currently, China's economy is undergoing many positive and profound changes, with the development model rapidly shifting from traditional factor-driven growth to innovation-driven growth. "With the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation, new forms of the intelligent economy are constantly emerging, and the support of new momentum for economic development will continue to strengthen," said Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics.

The fundamentals of the economic operation remain stable. From January to July, total retail sales of consumer goods and services increased by 2.6% year-on-year, with service retail sales up by 5.0% and goods retail sales up by 1.1%. Total imports and exports of goods grew by 17.3%, the RMB exchange rate appreciated steadily, and foreign exchange reserves remained above $3.4 trillion. The surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.2%, and consumer prices rose by 0.9% year-on-year. Fu Linghui noted that the stable fundamentals and strong resilience of the economic operation are a solid foundation for China's stable development.

New momentum is accumulating strength and providing strong support. In the first seven months, the value-added of industries above designated size increased by 5.3% year-on-year, with new momentum further enhancing its contribution to the industrial economy. "According to preliminary calculations, from January to July, new momentum sectors, represented by high-tech manufacturing and digital product manufacturing, contributed about half of the growth in industrial value-added above designated size, an increase of about 3 percentage points from the first half of the year," Fu Linghui said. From the production side, the value-added of high-tech manufacturing grew by 13.8%, 8.5 percentage points faster than that of all industries above designated size. By product, the output of 3D printing equipment, lithium-ion batteries, and industrial robots increased by 52.3%, 40.2%, and 28.5% year-on-year, respectively.

As new momentum potential is released, investment in new tracks is also expanding and improving. The expansion of computing power demand has driven a significant increase in investment across the entire industrial chain. In the first seven months, investment in the electronic circuit manufacturing, electronic special material manufacturing, and integrated circuit manufacturing industries increased by 57.7%, 9.4%, and 11.5% year-on-year, respectively. The development of the new energy vehicle market has driven investment in the lithium-ion battery manufacturing industry to grow by 23%. Investment in aerospace and equipment manufacturing increased by 12.3%, and the commercialization process of the low-altitude economy is steadily accelerating.

Artificial intelligence is becoming an accelerator for the transformation between old and new drivers, empowering various industries. With the improvement of the industrial chain, the output of products such as memory chips and industrial robots has increased rapidly. Data shows that in July, AI drove the output of sensors, memory chips, electronic components, and optical fibers to grow by 35.3%, 30.2%, 23.4%, and 21.1% year-on-year, respectively. The output of industrial robots and robot reducers also increased by 30.2% and 22.7%, respectively. On the consumption side, from January to July, retail sales of wearable smart devices above designated size grew by more than 100%. Immersive and interactive consumption scenarios, such as AI-guided tours and virtual fitting rooms, are accelerating their rollout, continuously unleashing new consumption potential.

"The characteristics of artificial intelligence imply that China has significant potential for development in this field," said Miao Yanliang, chief economist at China International Capital Corporation. The broader the industrial impact, the more valuable China's super-large market and rich application scenarios are. The deeper the requirement for technology integration, the easier it is to leverage China's complete industrial system and engineering capabilities. The faster the iteration speed required, the more important the vast user base is for developers to refine their products.

According to Zhu Feng, chief China economist at JPMorgan, the production side remains the most resilient part. China's new quality productive forces are forming new growth pillars, with industrial production, high-tech manufacturing, equipment manufacturing, and electronics and AI hardware-related industrial chains all benefiting from industrial upgrading and the global AI capital expenditure cycle. However, he also cautioned that continuously improving domestic demand remains crucial, with a focus on enhancing the capacity to absorb output.

"The transformation and upgrading of industries and the transition between old and new growth drivers are not a synchronized process; the pace of development inevitably varies. We must recognize the positive aspects of new momentum accelerating and the economy improving, while also acknowledging that the replacement of growth drivers takes time and some sectors face short-term difficulties," said Wang Guanhua, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics and Deputy Director of the Department of National Economic Statistics. In the future, China will continue to promote high-quality development, coordinate the upgrading of traditional industries, the expansion of emerging industries, and the cultivation of future industries, and promote a smooth transition between old and new growth drivers.

Looking ahead, Fu Linghui emphasized that despite numerous risks and challenges, the main theme of China's economy remains stable. With the growth of new momentum, the deepening of reform and opening-up, and the effectiveness of macro policies, the economy is expected to maintain a generally stable and improving development trend, providing strong support for achieving the annual economic growth target. Zhu Feng expressed confidence in China achieving its annual economic goals, predicting that the economy may show "controllable repair" in the second half of the year, with improved quarter-on-quarter momentum in the third and fourth quarters. Currently, there is a foundation for achieving the annual economic target, but macro policies need timely support and precise implementation, with further strengthening if necessary.