Trade Union Forum

ECONOMY

General Information

The main currency of the PRC is CNY – Chinese yuan.

Among the key priorities of the country's socio-economic development are the transition to a high-quality growth model, stimulation of domestic consumption, support for technological sovereignty and innovation, and resolution of structural problems in the real estate market.

According to official data, China's GDP in 2024 reached 18,744 trillion US dollars. The forecast for 2025 assumes economic growth at a level of around 5%.

The structure of the economy is distributed as follows: approximately 56,7% of GDP is formed by the service sector, 37% – by industry, and 6.3% – by agriculture.

For the successful implementation of the government's economic goals, China established a division into special economic zones (SEZs). SEZs were created for the purpose of internal economic development of the country, as well as the development of external economic cooperation between China and other countries of the world. Currently, China has six major SEZs:

• Shenzhen, located in Guangdong province, the main foreign trade center of Southern China. Shenzhen accounts for more than a third of the nationwide production of computers;
• Zhuhai, located in Guangdong province. Active and successful attempts at cooperation with the SEZ in Shenzhen are being undertaken. One of the largest logistics hubs in the country;
• Shantou, located in Guangdong province. Shantou is focused on the development of investment projects in the petrochemical industry, active development of ports and light industry;
• Xiamen, located in Fujian province. The main competitive advantage is well-established connections with business in Taiwan;
• Hainan, located in Zhejiang province. The main competitive advantage is climatic and recreational resources. The service sector is developed, especially tourism, as well as tropical agriculture and maritime fishing;
• Kashgar, located in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Import of energy resources and rare minerals, and water resources is developed.

 

Special attention is paid to the development of high technologies, including expansion of research in the field of artificial intelligence, semiconductor industry, and renewable energy.

Share of Economic Sectors

China's economy is based on three key sectors: services, industry, and agriculture.

The service sector forms approximately 56,7% of GDP, including information technology, financial services, and trade. Retail trade demonstrates steady growth, supported by an increase in domestic consumption.

The industrial sector accounts for 37% of GDP. Manufacturing, with a share of approximately 27% of GDP, is represented by the production of new energy vehicles, industrial robots, electronics, and mechanical engineering. Industry in China is represented by 360 sectors. In addition to traditional Chinese light industry and ferrous metallurgy, oil extraction, oil refining, chemical, pharmaceutical, automotive, aviation, space, and electronics industries have developed. Also, mechanical engineering is developing rapidly in China: general, heavy, power, machine tool manufacturing, industrial equipment production, transport, agricultural, shipbuilding, automotive, electronics, and aerospace industries.

Agriculture accounts for 6,3% of the country's GDP. China experiences a shortage of drinking water. Space for agriculture is also limited, which is why only 15% of the country's total territory is allocated to agricultural land.

Foreign trade in 2024 reached an export volume of 3,71 trillion US dollars with imports of 2,71 trillion dollars. Key trading partners: ASEAN countries, EU, and USA.

Export and Import

Export is the main component of the PRC economy. In September 2025, exports reached 329 bil. US dollars.

Key export items are:

- Machinery and transport equipment (approximately 50%), in particular:

- Electrical equipment, apparatus and appliances (14%);

- Telecommunications equipment and apparatus for recording and reproducing sound (12%);

- Office machines and computers (8%);

- Industrial equipment and spare parts (5%).

- Various light industry products (23%);

- Goods classified by material (16%), such as textiles, metal products;

- Chemical products and related goods (6%);

- Food and animals (3%).

Main export partners: European Union, USA, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Germany, India, Netherlands.

China's imports in September 2025 amounted to 238 bil. US dollars.

The largest share of imported products consists of:

- Machinery and transport equipment (38%), including electrical equipment and apparatus (21%);

- Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (17%), mainly oil and gas;

- Raw materials that are not food products (14%), such as metal ore;

- Chemical products and related goods (11%);

- Other manufactured goods (7%);

- Food products and animals (4%).

Main import partners: European Union (especially Germany and France), South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, USA, Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, Vietnam, Russia, Saudi Arabia.

Labor Force

China's labor force as of 2024 is approximately 790 million people. The unemployment rate in urban areas remains at 5,2%.

The average monthly wage in the urban private sector reached 6500 yuan (approximately 900 US dollars).

The distribution of employment by economic sectors demonstrates a transition to a post-industrial model:

• Service sector – 48%;
• Industrial – 29%;
• Agriculture – 23%.

China's labor market is characterized by:

• High labor mobility;
• Growth in the share of highly qualified specialists;
• Gradual aging of the population.