(Yicai) July 17 -- The first six months of this year show that China's formation of new quality productive forces, a concept of advanced productivity through tech-driven green and digital transformation, is speeding up, indicating economic recovery.

The first half was stable as economic upgrading proceeded steadily. The nation's gross domestic product totaled around CNY61.68 trillion (USD8.49 trillion), up 5 percent from a year ago, according to the latest estimate by the stats bureau. The increase is in line with the expectations of mainstream think tanks and major industry associations.

In the first quarter, the GDP jumped 5.3 percent year-over-year while the second quarter saw a 4.7 percent hike, or a 0.7 percent addition from the previous quarter, marking the eighth straight quarter of growth.

The quarter-over-quarter streak reflects the robust upward tendency of the Chinese economy, experts who work for mainstream think tanks said to the author. The expansion of 5 percent in the first half is actually quite impressive when considering the escalating external uncertainties and the high basis of the same period of last year.

The structure of China's economic growth is optimizing, based on macroeconomic data. For instance, despite extreme weather, the yields of summer grain have risen this year, which has provided favorable conditions for stable economic operations, as well as security regarding people’s livelihood. In fact, farmers in eastern regions enjoyed rising incomes in the first six months, they said during the author's field trips.

At the same time, China’s manufacturing sector is accelerating its transformation to become smarter and greener. Among the 41 major fields, 39 grew their value-added industrial outputs in the first half. Equipment manufacturing was an outlier with a 7.8 percent boost, higher than average for 11 straight months, according to official data. Thereby, manufacturing is becoming an increasingly important contributor to economic growth.

The highly-anticipated new quality productive forces are coming into focus. A fresh momentum as well as new advantages are constantly accumulating. In the first half, innovation made up a higher share of the nation's GDP as emerging industries and products were gradually becoming novel growth points.

Recent field trips prove that technology upgrades in the Yangtze River Delta are helping companies produce high-quality products, enhance their operating efficiency, cut costs, and save customer resources. 

For example, firms in Yiwu, a city known for its massive wholesale market of small goods, have applied strict product design, manufacturing, and quality control requirements to quickly satisfy orders. They can also create customized products to fulfill clients' specific wishes to ensure that each batch conforms to international standards and client demand.

Logistics provides another example of improved efficiency. Over four-fifths of all merchandise of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games sold in the European country are made in China, an expert at a French think tank told the author recently. A plush toy of the Phryges, a mascot of the games, costs EUR49.90 (USD55) when produced in France whereas a China-made one would only cost EUR34.90. Yiwu-based manufacturers are highly efficient as they could respond to European orders received in April with smooth deliveries in June. 

(The author is a researcher at the Shanghai branch of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a public policy think tank under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.)

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine