BEIJING – China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.7 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2026, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday.

The world's second-largest economy generated around 69.57 trillion yuan ($10.25 trillion) in output during the period, the data showed. In the second quarter, the country's economy expanded 4.3 percent year-on-year.  

Industrial output

China's value-added industrial output expanded at a solid pace in the first half of the year, with equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing posting strong growth, according to the official data.

The country's value-added industrial output rose 5.4 percent year-on-year during the period, according to the bureau.

The industrial output is used to measure the activity of large enterprises each with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan.

In terms of sectors, the value-added output of the mining sector increased by 3.6 percent, while that of the manufacturing sector grew by 5.6 percent. The value-added output of the electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply sectors went up by 5.5 percent, the data showed.

Retail sales

On consumption strength, China's total retail sales of goods and services increased by 2.7 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2026, the bureau said.

The retail sales of services increased by 5.3 percent in the period from a year ago, and that of goods increased by 1.1 percent, according to the data released by bureau.

In terms of services consumption, the categories of communication and information services, tourism consulting and leasing services, and cultural, sports and leisure services saw fast growth, the bureau's data showed.

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In the first half of the year, the total retail sales of consumer goods, which include the sales of physical consumer goods plus the income generated from the catering services, reached 24.87 trillion yuan, up by 1.3 percent year-on-year, the data showed.

Retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas rose 1.2 percent while that in rural areas increased 2.5 percent.

Fixed-asset investment

Wednesday's data also indicated that China's fixed-asset investment dropped 5.7 percent year-on-year in the first six months.

The investment totaled nearly 22.64 trillion yuan during the period, the bureau said.

Excluding the property sector, the country's fixed-asset investment went down 2.7 percent in the first six months.

By sector, investment in intellectual property products grew 9.4 percent year-on-year, 1.5 percentage points faster than in the first quarter of the year.

Infrastructure investment declined 2.4 percent from a year earlier, while manufacturing investment slipped 1.2 percent, according to the bureau's data.

Disposable income

In the same period, China's per capita disposable income went up 5.2 percent year-on-year in nominal terms, the official data showed.

The country's per capita disposable income stood at 22,981 yuan, the bureau said, representing a growth of 4.2 percent in real terms after deducting price factors.

The income growth of rural residents outpaced that of urban residents. In H1, the per capita disposable income of urban residents reached 30,126 yuan, marking a nominal year-on-year increase of 4.4 percent and an increase of 3.4 percent in real terms. Rural residents' per capita disposable income was 12,699 yuan, marking a nominal year-on-year growth of 6.4 percent and an increase of 5.5 percent in real terms.

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During the same period, China's per capita wage income, net operating income, net property income and net transfer income logged nominal increases of 5.3 percent, 6.5 percent, 1.1 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively.

Urban unemployment

On the labor market, the surveyed urban unemployment rate in China stood at 5 percent in June, down from 5.1 percent in the previous month, the bureau said.