On January 21, 2025, Sichuan's economic "report card" was unveiled—the provincial GDP reached 6,766.534 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 5.5% calculated at constant prices.
The year 2025 marked the conclusion of the "14th Five-Year Plan" and the planning phase for the "15th Five-Year Plan." Amid a rapidly changing external environment and increasing internal challenges, Sichuan's economic and social development achieved new results through intensified policies and collective efforts, producing a hard-won economic performance. How does this report card measure up? A spokesperson from the Provincial Bureau of Statistics and relevant experts provided their analysis.
Economic resilience has strengthened, with multiple indicators outpacing the national average. The figures 5.5%, 5.6%, 5.5%, and 5.5% correspond to Sichuan's economic growth rates in the first quarter, first half, first three quarters, and the full year of 2025, respectively. This demonstrates a stable economic trajectory throughout the year. The provincial economy started steadily in the first quarter, showed steady progress in the first half, and continued under pressure in the latter part of the year, with quarterly growth fluctuations of just 0.1 percentage points.
When viewed against the national backdrop, Sichuan's performance in several key economic indicators exceeded the country's averages. The 5.5% economic growth rate was 0.5 percentage points higher than the national figure. The value-added of industrial enterprises above the designated size grew by 6.5% for the full year, surpassing the national rate by 0.6 percentage points. The service sector's value-added increased by 6.1%, 0.7 percentage points above the national level. Furthermore, total retail sales of consumer goods rose by 5.1%, outperforming the national growth by 1.4 percentage points. Throughout the year, Sichuan firmly shouldered its responsibility as a major economic province, contributing significantly to the national development landscape through its own progress.
A closer examination of this report card reveals an economy characterized by enhanced quality, a steadier pace, and greater resilience in its high-quality development. Industrial support remained robust. Among the 41 major industrial categories for enterprises above the designated size, 33 sectors experienced growth in value-added, resulting in an expansion coverage rate exceeding 80%. The six advantageous industries consistently posted growth rates higher than the overall industrial average. The service sector, contributing over half (57.1%) of the GDP and accounting for more than 60% of economic growth, played a pivotal role. Notably, modern service industries such as leasing and business services, along with information transmission, software, and IT services, registered rapid growth, providing solid support for economic transformation and upgrading.
The economic structure continued to optimize. Continuous improvements were seen in the industrial mix, sectoral composition, and demand structure. Specifically, the share of equipment manufacturing value-added within the total for industries above the designated size increased by over 1 percentage point compared to the previous year. Industrial investment's proportion of total fixed-asset investment surpassed 30%, marking an increase of 2.8 percentage points. The retail sales share of new energy vehicles within the total retail sales of consumer goods by units above the designated size rose by 3.2 percentage points year-on-year.
In the view of Lu Rongdong, a senior economist at the Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Research Institute, the province's ability to achieve leapfrog development over the past five years, despite a complex and volatile external environment and multiple unexpected shocks, fully demonstrates the inherent resilience and competitiveness of the Sichuan economy.
Development is increasingly oriented towards innovation and quality, with the "innovation content" and "green content" of industries continuously rising. "Since the second half of last year, there has been a noticeable increase in companies inquiring about humanoid robot business," said Deng Shihai, Deputy General Manager of Chengdu Canopus Robot Technology Co., Ltd., noting that the company experienced sustained strong order demand and achieved double-digit growth in product sales for the year.
Currently, new quality productive forces, represented by robotics and artificial intelligence, are becoming crucial engines for development. In 2025, Sichuan intensified efforts to cultivate these forces, steadily advanced reforms in key areas, and propelled the economy towards more innovative and high-quality development, thereby enhancing the industrial "innovation quotient" and "green quotient."
High-tech manufacturing led the growth. Emerging industries such as artificial intelligence and the low-altitude economy accelerated their formation, with advanced products like "Made-in-Sichuan" robots making frequent appearances. The value-added of high-tech manufacturing industries above the designated size grew by 12.3% compared to the previous year, with the electronic and communication equipment manufacturing sector surging by 20.2%, and the manufacturing of aircraft, spacecraft, and related equipment increasing by 19%.
The pace of green and low-carbon transformation remained steady. The value-added of green and low-carbon advantageous industries increased by 7.8% year-on-year, with the power battery and vanadium-titanium industries posting growth rates of 28.4% and 16%, respectively. The province's hydropower installed capacity historically surpassed 100 million kilowatts. The output of new energy vehicles soared by 120% year-on-year, while the production of lithium-ion batteries increased by 45.1%.
Investment trends clearly pointed towards innovation, quality, and green development. Efforts accelerated in building world-class clean energy bases, with investment in electric power and natural gas development growing by 10.7% and 32.4%, respectively. The push for equipment upgrades and intelligent/digital transformation continued, leading to an 8.4% increase in industrial technological transformation investment. The layout for new industrial tracks gained speed, with investment in high-tech manufacturing rising by 5.3%, including a 10.5% growth in the electronic and communication equipment manufacturing sector.
Xu Yan, Director and Professor of the Economics Teaching and Research Department at the Party School of the Sichuan Provincial Committee (Shengwei), believes that Sichuan's accelerated efforts to enhance the quality and doubling of its six advantageous industries and to strengthen the "15+N" key industrial chains are speeding up the construction of a modern industrial system. The industrial foundation is continuously being consolidated, with the pillar of industrial development shifting from traditional industries towards advanced manufacturing. Concurrently, the impressive performance of strategic emerging industries and future industries lays a solid foundation for the overall leap forward of the industrial system.
Potential is being unleashed at a faster pace, as the fundamental conditions supporting long-term positive growth remain unchanged. The provincial economy's ability to withstand pressure and advance steadily is inseparable from the proactive and precise measures of macroeconomic policies.
Facing a complex and severe external environment in 2025, the Provincial Party Committee and Government implemented precise policies, successively rolling out measures such as the "21 Articles" to promote economic recovery and improvement and the "18 Articles" to consolidate and expand the positive momentum. They intensified the implementation of policies focusing on new infrastructure and major projects, along with special campaigns to boost consumption. The effects of these policies are continuously materializing, accelerating the release of developmental potential.
The policy of trade-in programs drove relatively fast sales growth of related goods. For the full year, retail sales of communication equipment by units above the designated size surged by 50.8%, while retail sales of automobiles grew by 8.9%. The large-scale equipment renewal initiative had a significant impact, with investment in equipment, tools, and器具购置 achieving double-digit growth for 19 consecutive months.
The recovery of private investment emerged as another highlight. In 2025, through vigorous efforts to optimize the business environment, implement project participation mechanisms, and strengthen factor and financing guarantees, Sichuan's private investment reversed a two-year declining trend, growing by 2.1%, which was 3.4 percentage points faster than the previous year.
At the Chengdu Jinniu High-Tech Industrial Park, construction is in full swing at the Hetianchuang Headquarters and Optoelectronic Display R&D and Manufacturing Base project. "Full completion is expected by November 2026, with production commencing in the first half of 2027," said Zhang Zhiquan, Deputy General Manager of Chengdu Hetianchuang Technology Co., Ltd., adding that the project went from site selection to signing in just half a month, with the favorable business environment boosting the company's confidence to increase investment.
Stable corporate expectations contribute to vibrant economic activity. As 2026 begins, various regions in Sichuan are focusing on optimizing the business environment to stimulate the vitality of the private economy. The province has regularized activities such as monthly meetings with provincial government leaders and weekly sessions with department heads, creating a "home for private enterprises" to address difficulties face-to-face. Cities like Suining and Dazhou have released investment opportunity lists for private enterprises, incorporating private capital into major projects and breaking down market access barriers...
The year 2026 marks the beginning of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. "Although the external environment remains complex and severe, and numerous challenges persist in the provincial economic operation, the fundamental conditions supporting the economy's strong resilience,充足活力, vast potential, and long-term positive trend have not changed," stated Yang Zhigang. The叠加 of major national strategies in Sichuan, such as the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle construction and the national strategic rear area development, presents significant opportunities and broad development space for the province.