China’s economy grew 5.0% in 2024 according to the preliminary national accounts published on 17 January 2025. The National Bureau of Statistics estimated output at 134.9 trillion yuan, with the annual growth measure calculated at constant prices.
The final quarter was stronger than the middle of the year. GDP increased 5.4% from a year earlier in the fourth quarter, compared with 4.6% in the third. Quarterly growth was 1.6%, providing a separate comparison with the immediately preceding period.
Manufacturing and modern services expanded, but conditions differed across industries. Value added in high-tech manufacturing rose 8.9%, while retail sales increased 3.5%. Investment in real estate development fell 10.6%, and sales of newly built commercial buildings declined by both value and floor area.
For businesses, that combination pointed to an economy whose headline expansion concealed different sources of demand. These figures reproduce the statistical picture available in January 2025. They should be read as the original preliminary release, rather than as a claim about unrevised historical accounts or current growth.