At the press conference on Beijing's economic performance in the first half of 2026 held on July 20, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics and the Survey Office of the National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing released the city's half-year economic performance report. In the first six months of the year, Beijing's regional GDP reached 2.64119 trillion yuan, up 5.4 percent year on year at constant prices and outpacing the annual growth target of around 5 percent at the year's halfway point.

From the production perspective, Beijing’s economic structure across the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors continued to improve. The service sector continued to serve as the backbone of the economy, with its value added hitting 2.30725 trillion yuan, up 6.1 percent year on year.

Within the service sector, the value added of information transmission, software and information technology services stood at 677.46 billion yuan, up 9.4 percent, amid surging demand for artificial intelligence, computing power and storage capacity, and integrated circuit design. The industrial sector made notable progress in moving toward higher-end production. The value added of industrial enterprises above designated size rose by 3.4 percent year on year. The value added of high-tech manufacturing and strategic emerging industries (with overlapping statistical coverage) increased by 15.7 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively. Output of integrated circuits, industrial robots and new energy vehicles rose sharply, with the value added of the integrated circuit sector surging by 92.1 percent year on year. In addition, agricultural production recovered steadily, and rural leisure tourism saw a simultaneous uptick in both visitor arrivals and revenue.

From the demand perspective, the investment structure continued to see a growing share of funds directed toward industry development and public well-being. In the first half of the year, investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) grew by 3 percent year on year. Specifically, investment in equipment purchases and manufacturing rose by 14.3 percent and 23.7 percent, respectively, while those in high-tech manufacturing and scientific research and technical services soared by 36 percent and 87.2 percent.

The consumer market showed divergent trends. Total market consumption increased by 1.7 percent year on year, while service consumption grew by 4.5 percent. However, total retail sales of consumer goods stood at 658.78 billion yuan, down 2.2 percent, mainly due to declining retail sales of traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. Green and smart consumption remained strong, with retail sales of new energy vehicles rising by 5.2 percent and those of wearable smart devices and high-energy-efficiency home appliances surging by over 60 percent.

The press conference also released a range of key livelihood indicators. Employment, residents' income and consumer prices stayed stable, underscoring the continued strengthening of livelihood protections.

The employment market also maintained stability. The average surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 4.1 percent in the first half of the year, unchanged from the same period last year.

Residents' income rose steadily. Per capita disposable personal income reached 47,290 yuan, up 4.8 percent year on year, with all four categories of income registering positive growth. Wage income was the primary driver, up 5 percent. Net transfer income increased by 5.1 percent, while net operating income and net property income rose by 4.1 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively. Per capita disposable income among rural residents reached 23,437 yuan, up 5.9 percent.

Consumer prices rose moderately. Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed 0.7 percent year on year, while prices across the eight categories of goods and services showed mixed trends. Producer Price Index (PPI) for industrial products fell 1.7 percent year on year.

(Source: Beijing Daily)