A worker looks at a container ship in Qingdao Port, Shandong province. China's economy is expected to bottom out in one or two years. (YU FANGPING / CHINA DAILY)

BEIJING - China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 2.3 percent year on year in 2020, exceeding the 100-trillion-yuan (US$15.42 trillion) threshold to 101.5986 trillion yuan, official data showed Monday.

The pace was faster than the 0.7-percent increase in the first three quarters, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, the country's GDP expanded 6.5 percent year on year, faster than the 4.9-percent growth in the third quarter, the data showed.

The country's economic operation has recovered steadily with employment and people's well-being effectively guaranteed, the NBS said, adding that the major tasks of economic and social development have been completed better than expected.

To soften the impact of the COVID-19 shock, the government has rolled out a raft of measures, including more fiscal spending, tax relief, and cuts in lending rates and banks' reserve requirements to stabilize growth and employment.

As the epidemic has been largely brought under control domestically, factories and schools have reopened and tourist sites across the country have resumed their usual hustle and bustle.

China's GDP exceeded the 100-trillion-yuan (US$15.42 trillion) threshold as it posted a 2.3 percent year-on-year expansion to 101.5986 trillion yuan in 2020

Industrial output up 2.8%

China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 2.8 percent year on year in 2020, data from the NBS showed.

The growth accelerated from a rise of 2.3 percent registered in the first 11 months of last year, according to the NBS.

In Q4, the industrial output grew 7.1 percent year on year, 1.3 percentage points higher than that recorded in Q3. December alone saw the output growth rise to 7.3 percent, up by 0.3 percentage points from November, NBS data showed.

The value-added industrial output measures the activity of designated large enterprises with an annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about US$3 million).

In a breakdown by ownership, the output of state-holding enterprises climbed 2.2 percent in 2020, that of joint-stock companies went up 3 percent, and that of overseas-funded enterprises rose by 2.4 percent.

The output of the manufacturing sector went up 3.4 percent year on year last year, the fastest among the three major sectors, which also include mining and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water.

The mining output edged up 0.5 percent year on year, while the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water reported a year-on-year growth of two percent.

READ MORE: Report: China's GDP likely to increase by 7.5% in 2021

Fixed-asset investment up 2.9%

China's fixed-asset investment (FAI) steadily recovered in 2020, with the investment in the high-tech industry and private sector rising rapidly, data from the NBS showed.

The country's FAI went up 2.9 percent year on year in 2020, according to the NBS. The growth was 0.3 percentage points higher than that recorded in the first 11 months last year.

The FAI amounted to 51.89 trillion yuan (about US$8 trillion) in 2020, according to the NBS. On a month-on-month basis, the country's fixed-asset investment climbed 2.32 percent in December 2020.

Investment by the private sector expanded to 28.93 trillion yuan last year, up one percent year on year, the data showed.

Investment in the primary industry went up 19.5 percent year on year, while that in the secondary industry edged up 0.1 percent. Investment in the tertiary industry added 3.6 percent, up by 0.1 percentage points from the growth seen in the first 11 months of 2020.

Retail sales down 3.9%

China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of consumption growth, fell 3.9 percent year on year in 2020, the NBS said.

Sales of consumer goods reached 39.2 trillion yuan (about US$6.05 trillion) last year. Retail sales in rural areas fell 3.2 percent, lower than the 4-percent decline in urban areas.

In the fourth quarter, the total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 4.6 percent year on year, 3.7 percentage points higher than that in the third quarter.

Monday's data pointed to China's ongoing consumption upgrade, as the retail sales of communication equipment, cosmetics, as well as gold, silver and jewelry by enterprises above the designated size grew by 26 percent, 21.2 percent and 17.3 percent, respectively, in the fourth quarter.

ALSO READ: China's GDP expected to exceed 100 trillion yuan in 2020

Property investment up 7%

China's investment in property development rose seven percent year on year in 2020, picking up from the 6.8-percent increase in the first 11 months, the NBS said. Total property investment in 2020 stood at 14.14 trillion yuan (about US$2.18 trillion), the NBS said.

Investment in residential buildings went up 7.6 percent year on year, 0.2 percentage points higher than the growth in the first 11 months.

In 2020, commercial housing sales climbed 2.6 percent year on year in terms of floor area to 1.76 billion square meters, widening from the 1.3-percent growth in Jan.-Nov. period.

In terms of value, commercial housing sales rose 8.7 percent year on year to 17.36 trillion yuan last year, up 2.2 percentage points from 2019.

The property development climate index compiled by the NBS went up slightly by 0.21 points to 100.76 points in December.

Surveyed urban unemployment rate within target

China's job market remained generally stable in 2020 thanks to stepped-up efforts to ensure employment as the country has steadily emerged from the virus-induced economic slump.

In 2020, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas stood at 5.6 percent, below the government's annual target of around 6 percent, data from the NBS showed.

A total of 11.86 million new urban jobs were created for the whole year, completing 131.8 percent of the target set for the whole year, said the NBS.

Ning Jizhe, head of the NBS, attributed the stable job market to the country's employment-first policy, as well as the joint efforts made by government at all levels and market entities.

Ensuring employment was a priority of our macro-economic policy last year, Ning added.

In December, the surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, down from its annual peak of 6.2 percent in February as COVID-19 brought many of the country's economic activities to a halt.

The surveyed unemployment rate among those aged between 25 and 59, the majority of the labor market, stood at 4.7 percent last month, according to the NBS.