Jan. 22, 2026 - In 2025, in the face of complex changes in the domestic and international economic environment, China's national economy has forged ahead under pressure, moving towards innovation and excellence. New achievements have been made in high-quality development, and the main goals and tasks for economic and social development have been fully accomplished. The 14th Five-Year Plan has been successfully concluded. Preliminary estimates show that the gross domestic product (GDP) for the whole year was 140,187.9 billion yuan, an increase of 5.0% over the previous year at constant prices. 

The added value of industrial enterprises above designated size across the country increased by 5.9% throughout the year compared with the previous year. By major categories, the added value of the mining industry increased by 5.6%, that of the manufacturing industry by 6.4%, and that of the power, heat, gas and water production and supply industry by 2.3%. The added value of the equipment manufacturing industry increased by 9.2%, and that of the high-tech manufacturing industry rose by 9.4%. The growth rates were 3.3 and 3.5 percentage points faster than those of the industrial enterprises above designated size, respectively.

The national fixed asset investment for the whole year (excluding rural households) was 48,518.6 billion yuan, a decrease of 3.8% compared with the previous year. Excluding real estate development investment, the national fixed asset investment decreased by 0.5%. By sector, infrastructure investment declined by 2.2%, manufacturing investment increased by 0.6%, and real estate development investment dropped by 17.2%. The sales area of newly built commercial housing across the country was 881.01 million square meters, a decrease of 8.7%. The sales revenue of newly built commercial housing was 8,393.7 billion yuan, a decrease of 12.6%. By industry, investment in the primary industry increased by 2.3%, that in the secondary industry rose by 2.5%, and that in the tertiary industry declined by 7.4%. Private investment declined by 6.4%. Excluding real estate development investment, private investment declined by 1.9%. In high-tech industries, investment in information services, aviation, spacecraft and equipment manufacturing increased by 28.4% and 16.9% respectively.

The total value of imports and exports of goods for the whole year was 45,468.7 billion yuan, an increase of 3.8% over the previous year. Among them, exports reached 26,989.2 billion yuan, increasing by 6.1%. Imports reached 18,479.5 billion yuan, increasing by 0.5%. Imports and exports with the countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative increased by 6.3%, accounting for 51.9% of the total imports and exports. Exports of high-tech products increased by 13.2%.

In 2025, the national economy maintained a stable and progressive development trend despite multiple pressures. However, the impact of changes in the external environment deepened, the contradiction of strong supply and weak demand at home became prominent, and there were still many old problems and new challenges in economic development. The output of steel, cement, glass and other industries, which are major consumers of refractory materials, all declined to varying degrees, but the output of non-ferrous metals continued to grow yet with relatively limited consumption. The specific output of refractory materials-consuming industries in 2025 were listed as follows:

Industry	Output in Dec 2025 (Million Ton)	YoY Growth Rate (%)	Output in Jan-Dec, 2025 (Million Ton)	YoY Growth Rate (%)
Pig iron	60.722	-9.9	836.041	-3.0
Crude steel	68.177	-10.3	960.812	-4.4
Cement	144.164	-6.6	1,693.143	-6.9
Flat glass	88.293 (mln weight case)	3.4	975.910 (mln weight case)	-3.0
Ferroalloy	3.433	1.9	38.160	5.6
Alumina	8.011	6.7	92.446	8.0
Electrolytic aluminum	3.874	3.0	45.016	2.4
Electrolytic copper	1.326	9.1	14.720	10.4
Lead	0.719	5.3	7.742	2.8
Zinc	0.675	11.0	7.528	9.3
Ten non-ferrous metals	7.208	4.9	81.750	3.9
Coke	42.743	1.9	504.121	2.9