1. Report Industry Investment Rating No information about the industry investment rating is provided in the report. 2. Core Viewpoints of the Report - In December, the economic operation was in the traditional off - season, but factors such as the late Spring Festival and the extended stocking cycle might boost industrial production. The export growth rate might decline slightly but still be better than that in October. The GDP growth rate in the fourth quarter was expected to reach around 4.5%, and the whole - year GDP was likely to achieve 5% and end smoothly [3][6]. - For the bond market, there was little suspense about the economic data in December. The market mainly focused on the verification of the "good start" of the economy at the beginning of the year. With the concentrated implementation of macro - policies to stabilize growth at the end of the year, the "two new" policies were issued one week earlier than in 2025, and the support amount for the early - batch "two important" and central budget - investment plan projects also increased compared with the previous year. January 2026 was expected to be the window for the concentrated effect of the "good start" policies, and high - frequency verification during the data "vacuum period" should be concerned [3]. 3. Summary According to the Directory 3.1 Inflation - CPI: It was expected that the CPI in December would rise to around 0.9% year - on - year. Fruit and vegetable prices supported the food price to rise above the seasonal level, and the non - food item was in line with the seasonality. The CPI was expected to increase by about 0.2% month - on - month [3][6][8]. - PPI: It was predicted that the PPI in December would rise to around - 1.9% year - on - year. The non - ferrous industry faced imported inflation pressure, and the prices of domestic bulk commodities such as steel and PTA improved. The PPI was expected to increase by about 0.2% month - on - month [3][6][14]. 3.2 Export - The export growth rate was expected to be around 5.0% in December. The export momentum in December was not weak, although the year - on - year growth rate of container throughput at ports was lower than that in November but better than that in October. The import was expected to increase by around 1.5% year - on - year, with the price support continuing to expand [3][21]. 3.3 Industrial The industrial growth rate in December was expected to be around 5.1%. The PMI in December returned above the boom - bust line, and the production sub - item further expanded. The late Spring Festival in 2026 extended the stocking cycle, which had a certain driving effect on production [3][6][24]. 3.4 Investment - The cumulative growth rate of fixed - asset investment from January to December was expected to be around - 3.0%. The cumulative year - on - year growth rate of infrastructure investment (excluding electricity) was about - 1.5%, the cumulative year - on - year growth rate of real estate investment was about - 16.7%, and the cumulative year - on - year growth rate of manufacturing investment was about + 1.2% [3][6][33]. 3.5 Social Retail The year - on - year growth rate of social retail in December was expected to be around 1.0%. As the national subsidy funds were approaching the end, the marginal boost to automobile consumption from the subsidy decline weakened. The year - on - year decline in gasoline prices widened, and the drag on social retail from petroleum product consumption continued to increase [3][6][36]. 3.6 Financial Data - In December, the bill interest rate declined against the trend, reflecting the weak credit impulse at the end of the year. The new credit in December was expected to be about 80 billion yuan, slightly lower than the level of 99 billion yuan in the same period of the previous year. The new social financing was about 1.7 trillion yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 58.85 billion yuan [3][6][45]. - The M2 growth rate was expected to remain around 8.0%. The new deposits were close to the seasonal level. From the asset side, the year - on - year growth rate of the credit balance might slightly decline to 6.3%, and the social financing growth rate might decline to around 8.4% affected by the high base of government bonds. From the liability side, the M2 in December might increase by 1.5 trillion yuan [3][48].

Consumption - In November, the year-on-year growth of social retail sales was 1.3%, down 1.6 percentage points from the previous month, significantly below the expected 2.9%[1][7] - Retail sales of goods fell sharply, with categories like gold and jewelry down 29.1% to 8.5%, and home appliances down 4.8% to -19.4%[2][8] - Service retail sales showed positive performance, with a cumulative year-on-year increase of 5.4%[2][8] Investment - Fixed asset investment in November recorded a year-on-year decline of 10.1%, but this was an improvement of 2.1 percentage points from October[3][39] - Infrastructure investment improved by 2.9 percentage points to -6.7%, supported by new special bonds and policy financial tools[3][17] - Manufacturing investment rose by 4.3 percentage points to -3.6%, indicating a recovery in certain sectors[3][41] Real Estate - Real estate development investment fell by 15.9% year-on-year, with a significant drop of 6.9 percentage points to -29.9% in November[2][43] - New construction and completion rates remained in negative growth, with new starts down 27.7% and completions down 25.4%[2][43] - Despite falling prices, the sales area of commercial housing increased by 7.7 percentage points to -17.9%[2][43] Production - Industrial added value maintained a growth rate of 4.8% in November, only slightly down by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month[3][26] - The production of food and beverages saw significant recovery, with growth rates of 5.6% and -0.6% respectively[3][26] - The automotive sector experienced a notable decline, with production down 4.9 percentage points to 11.9%[3][26] Policy Implications - The economic structure is increasingly differentiated during the policy transition, with a shift from goods consumption to service consumption[4][31] - The government's focus on "new investment" areas is beginning to show positive effects, with overall investment expected to stabilize in the future[4][31] - Risks remain from external environmental changes and the pace of growth policy implementation may not meet expectations[5][50]

Economic Growth - In the first half of 2025, the GDP growth rate in the eastern region averaged 5.3%, lagging behind the central (5.5%) and western (5.6%) regions, continuing the "east low, west high" trend[6][12] - The top five provinces accounted for 40% of the national GDP, with the top ten provinces making up 61.6%, indicating stable contributions from major economic provinces[13] Industrial Performance - The industrial added value in the central and western regions grew by 7.9% and 8.2% respectively, surpassing the national average of 6.4%, while eastern regions showed stable growth at 7.1%[27][31] - Eastern regions experienced a profit growth of over 10% in industrial enterprises, contrasting with the central and western regions where profits declined or showed minimal growth[31][30] Investment Trends - Fixed asset investment in the central region grew by 6.6%, exceeding the national level by 3.8 percentage points, while the eastern region's investment growth was only 1.7%[40][44] - Real estate investment in the eastern region decreased by 9.7%, contributing to the overall sluggish investment performance[44] Consumption Patterns - The central region led the nation in retail sales growth at 6.2%, while the eastern region lagged with a growth rate of only 4%[49][52] - The northeastern region saw a retail sales growth of 5.4%, benefiting from tourism and cultural events[52] Export Dynamics - The central and western regions achieved export growth rates of 15.5% and 17.5%, significantly higher than the national average of 7.2%, while the eastern region's export growth was only 1.4%[60] - Guangdong's exports grew by just 1.1%, heavily impacted by U.S. tariff policies and declining demand in the consumer electronics sector[60] Import Trends - In the first half of 2025, 21 provinces experienced negative import growth, particularly in the eastern and northeastern regions, with the eastern region's imports declining by 5.3%[66] - Some provinces in the central and western regions saw positive import growth, driven by resource products, with Anhui and Gansu achieving import growth rates of 13.4% and 30.3% respectively[66]

Economic Indicators - May 2025 domestic CPI is expected to decrease by 0.4% month-on-month and year-on-year[3] - May 2025 PPI is projected to decline by 0.3% month-on-month and 3.2% year-on-year[3] - Industrial added value is anticipated to slightly drop to 5.5% year-on-year in May 2025[3] - Retail sales of consumer goods are expected to decrease to 5.0% year-on-year in May 2025[3] - Fixed asset investment is forecasted to remain stable at 4.0% year-on-year[3] Trade and Financing - Exports in May 2025 are expected to rise by approximately 8.5% year-on-year[3] - Imports are projected to increase by 4.5% year-on-year[4] - Trade surplus is estimated at $971 million in May 2025[4] - Monthly increase in credit is expected to be 11,000 million yuan[4] - Total social financing is projected to increase by 22,000 million yuan in May 2025[4]