China records significant growth in 'emerging' industries

China’s consumer sector maintained a steady recovery in May 2026, while the country’s emerging industries recorded strong growth momentum, according to data from a government think tank. According to the State Information Center (SIC), a think tank under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planning body, offline consumer payments rose 2.4 per cent year-on-year (yoy) in May 2026, with the growth rate accelerating by 0.7 percentage points from the previous month. A detailed breakdown highlighted robust performance in specific sectors, with consumption of electronic products, catering services, and transport services registering significant growth of 9.7 per cent, 5.4 per cent, and 4.8 per cent respectively. SIC researcher Xing Yuguan attributed the recovery in the consumer sector to China’s consumer goods trade-in programme and policies aimed at boosting service consumption, as well as the boost generated by the May Day holiday. Beyond the consumer sector, SIC data also revealed an industrial shift towards emerging and intelligent sectors. According to the SIC, investment in frontier fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) and humanoid robots surged in May, whilst the tender value won for infrastructure projects in computing power, data, networking, and other sectors soared 106.9 per cent yoy.