The national economy got off to a strong start in the first quarter, with value added in the transport, warehousing, and postal sectors increasing by 4.3%.

　　On April 16, the National Bureau of Statistics released the first-quarter national economic data. Preliminary calculations show that the gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter was 33.4193 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.0% year-on-year at constant prices. The national economy achieved a good start in the first quarter.

　　According to the released data, in the first quarter, the service industry grew rapidly, and modern service industries showed good momentum. The added value of the service industry increased by 5.2% year-on-year in the first quarter. Among them, the added value of transportation, warehousing, and postal services increased by 4.3%. In March, the business activity index for the service industry was 50.2%, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous month; the business activity expectation index for the service industry was 54.8%. Among them, the business activity index for industries such as railway transportation was above 55.0%, indicating a relatively high level of prosperity.

　　The import and export of goods grew rapidly, and the trade structure continued to optimize. In the first quarter, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 11.838 trillion yuan, an increase of 15.0% year-on-year. Among them, exports were 6.8467 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.9%; imports were 4.9913 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.6%. General trade imports and exports increased by 9.0% year-on-year. Imports and exports with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative grew by 14.2%.

　　Meanwhile, fixed asset investment in the first quarter increased by 1.7% year-on-year, showing stable growth. Among them, infrastructure investment increased by 8.9% year-on-year, growing relatively fast.