China generated 12.56 million new urban jobs in 2024, exceeding the government’s annual target of 12 million, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Official data revealed that the urban survey unemployment rate averaged 5.1% in 2024, marking a year-on-year decrease of 0.1 percentage points.

The ministry stated that it would implement employment support plans for crucial areas and industries, urban and rural grassroots levels, and medium-sized, small, and micro enterprises, and establish a mechanism for the collection and release of jobs in major projects. 

To enhance employment opportunities for key groups, the ministry plans to issue guidelines on employing college graduates and create job opportunities for young people in areas like rural revitalization, community governance, social security, and healthcare. Additionally, it will introduce research-focused and managerial internship programs.

According to official data, China is expected to witness a significant increase in college graduates in 2025, with an estimated 430,000 more than the previous year, bringing the total to 12.22 million.

China has a trillion-dollar advantage in any tariff battle: WSJ

On a related note, Donald Trump ushered in a new era of economic competition with China when he took office in 2017, but now the he has begun his second term, Beijing's dominance in global manufacturing has grown more than ever before.

China has just recorded a trade surplus of around one trillion US dollars with the rest of the world for 2024, according to official data released last week. 

The massive gap between exports and imports—roughly equal to Poland's annual GDP—has now tripled compared to 2018, when decades of Western pro-free trade policy were upended by the tariffs Trump imposed on Chinese imports.  

Presently, China represents about 27% of global industrial output, according to data estimated by the United Nations, up from 24% in 2018. Therefore, forecasts indicate that by 2030, China's share in industry will rise to 45%, a level of dominance unmatched since the height of manufacturing in the US after World War II or the UK in the 19th century.