Beijing, China - Oct 19, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Press conference in progress
2. Reporters at press conference
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Mao Shengyong, spokesman, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS):
"In terms of personal income in the first three quarters, the per capita disposable income was 6.6 percent higher, the same as last year, which is also in step with the GDP growth."
4. Reporters at press conference
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Mao Shengyong, spokesman, National Bureau of Statistics:
"In terms of the industrial structure, the service sector is playing a greater role as the ballast of the economy. In the first three quarters, the value added in the service sector rose by 7.7 percent, and contributed to 60.8 percent of economic growth, which was 1.8 percentage points higher than last year."
6. Reporters at press conference
7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Mao Shengyong, spokesman, National Bureau of Statistics (ending with shot 8):
"The investment structure has also improved, with manufacturing investment picking up for six consecutive months, and private investment growing at a higher rate of more than 8 percent."
8. Press conference in progress, reporters
9. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Mao Shengyong, spokesman, National Bureau of Statistics:
"In the first three quarters, there are over 5 million newly-registered market entities, or 18,000 a day, marking a substantial increase in the number of new market entities. New industries are also growing faster. Among the major industrial companies with an annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan (about 2.88 million U.S. dollars), the value added growth rate of high-tech industries, equipment manufacturing industries and strategic emerging industries were 11.8 percent, 8.6 percent and 8.8 percent respectively."
10. Press conference in progress
11. Reporters at press conference

The Chinese economy has expanded in a reasonable range and maintained a trend of overall stability and steady progress in the first three quarters of 2018, according to statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday.

Mao Shengyong, spokesman of the NBS, said at a press conference in Beijing that China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 6.7 percent year on year in the first three quarters of 2018 to about 65.09 trillion yuan (about 9.38 trillion U.S. dollars).

The NBS figures show that in the third quarter, China's GDP rose 6.5 percent from a year ago, compared to a 6.7-percent increase in the second quarter.

Viewing from economic growth, employment, prices and incomes, the current economic performance remains stable within a proper range, Mao said.

"In terms of personal income in the first three quarters, the per capita disposable income was 6.6 percent higher, the same as last year, which is also in step with the GDP growth," he said.

Mao said that the economic structure has been optimized, and the quality and efficiency of economic operation are also improving.

"In terms of the industrial structure, the service sector is playing a greater role as the ballast of the economy. In the first three quarters, the value added in the service sector rose by 7.7 percent, and contributed to 60.8 percent of economic growth, which was 1.8 percentage points higher than last year," said Mao.

In the first nine months of the year, the tertiary industry accounted for 53.1 percent of the GDP, 0.3 percentage points higher than in the same period last year. What's more, consumption contributed to 78 percent of economic growth, up 14 percentage points year on year, he added.

"The investment structure has also improved, with manufacturing investment picking up for six consecutive months, and private investment growing at a higher rate of more than 8 percent," Mao said.

With solid progress in the supply-side structural reform, the upgrade of mass entrepreneurship and innovation is accelerating and the new driving forces are building up, and the number of new market entities has increased substantially.

"In the first three quarters, there are over 5 million newly-registered market entities, or 18,000 a day, marking a substantial increase in the number of new market entities. New industries are also growing faster. Among the major industrial companies with an annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan (about 2.88 million U.S. dollars), the value added growth rate of high-tech industries, equipment manufacturing industries and strategic emerging industries were 11.8 percent, 8.6 percent and 8.8 percent respectively," he said.