Employees work on the production line of a carmaker in Yuncheng, Shanxi province. [Photo by YAN XIN FOR CHINA DAILY]

China's economic vitality continues to improve, and the overall economy is poised for a steady recovery, as shown by a variety of economic data, CCTV News reported on Tuesday.

Data shows that China purchased over 400 million tons of grain, domestic express deliveries surpassing 160 billion items, and the national crude oil and natural gas output reached new highs in 2023.

China purchased over 400 million tons of grain in 2023

China maintained its grain purchase level at over 400 million tons last year, according to a national work conference on food and strategic reserves that concluded Tuesday.

At present, the main producing areas have accumulated nearly 120 million tons of new seasonal autumn grain in 2023, and the overall progress of autumn grain acquisition is about 60 percent, which is faster than that of the previous year.

China produced 695.41 million metric tons of grain in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 8.88 million tons, or 1.3 percent. The production level has remained consistently above 650 million metric tons for nine consecutive years.

China's grain market maintained a stable operation, and the strength of the national reserve and the emergency protection capacity were further strengthened, which provided strong support for the economic rebound and high-quality development.

China's national railway hit record highs in passenger and freight volumes

China saw 3.68 billion railway passenger trips in 2023, with peak daily passengers exceeding 20 million, setting historical highs for both annual and peak daily passenger transport, according to the China State Railway Group on Jan 9.

The national railway transported a record-high 3.91 billion tons of freight in 2023. The China-Europe freight trains operated a total of 17,000 trips, shipping 1.9 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), with year-on-year growth of 6 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

Additionally, the Western Land-Sea New Corridor trains transported 860,000 TEUs throughout the year, a 14 percent year-on-year increase.

China's parcel delivery industry handles over 160 billion items in 2023

China's postal industry handled 162 billion deliveries, earning 1.5 trillion yuan ($209.78 billion) in revenue. This marked growth rates of 16.5 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively, according to the State Post Bureau of China on Tuesday.

The industry is expected to maintain steady growth in 2024. Postal deliveries are estimated to reach 171.5 billion with revenues of 1.6 trillion yuan, growing 6 percent.

Express deliveries are expected to hit 142.5 billion in volume and earn 1.3 trillion yuan in revenue, with growth rates of 8 percent.

China's oil, gas output hits record high in 2023

China's total crude oil and natural gas output exceeded 390 million tons of oil equivalents in 2023, hitting a historical high, according to the National Energy Administration on Tuesday.

The country's crude oil output reached 208 million tons last year, increasing by more than 3 million tons compared with the level registered in 2022.

Natural gas output reached 230 billion cubic meters last year, maintaining an annual increase of 10 billion cubic meters for the seventh consecutive year. 

China's business entities sustain vitality

China saw 15.15 million newly-registered business entities handling tax-related businesses during the January-November period of 2023, up 25.4 percent year-on-year, according to the State Taxation Administration.

The number of active taxpayers, those who issued invoices and reported income within the same year, reached 10.56 million households, a 3.1 percentage point increase year-on-year, indicating the sustained improvement in the vitality of China's business entities.

2024's Spring Festival travel rush expects 80 million air-travelers

It is expected that an average of 16,500 flights are scheduled each day during this year's Spring Festival travel rush period, which is expected to begin on Jan 26 and end on March 5.

A record of over 80 million passenger trips will be made by air during the 40-day rush, and travel volume is expected to peak on Feb 8, Feb 16, Feb 20, and Feb 25, respectively.

Data from the end of last year showed China had 4,782 weekly international round-trip flights, with Chinese airlines accounting for 67 percent and foreign airlines accounting for 33 percent of the total volume.