Graphics: What stood out in China's economy in August?

China's August economy was marked by two key growth drivers: booming emerging industries and surging foreign trade, according to official data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.

In August, value‑added of high‑tech manufacturing and digital product manufacturing above designated size rose by 16.7% and 15.7% year on year respectively. New growth drivers contributed over 60% to industrial output growth.

The production index for information transmission, software and IT services climbed by 9.6%, contributing more than 20% to the growth of services production index.

Supported by these gains, production remained stable: industrial enterprises above designated size registered 5.2% growth in value‑added, while the services production index increased by 4.1%.

China's foreign trade in goods totaled 4.65 trillion yuan (about $692 billion) in August, up 19.8% year on year. Exports reached 2.73 trillion yuan, up 18.6% and imports 1.92 trillion yuan, up 21.7%.

For January‑August period, total goods trade hit 34.78 trillion yuan, a 17.6% year‑on‑year rise, with exports at 20.17 trillion yuan, up 14.6%, and imports at 14.61 trillion yuan, up 22.0%.

Robust import growth stems from global industrial and technological innovation, rising domestic demand and China's proactive import‑expansion efforts.

Increased imports from ASEAN, Africa and Latin America have created new industrial‑development opportunities for developing economies.