China completed the third national economic census at the end of 2014, and data collected by 3 million statisticians nationwide were published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on December 16. Results of the census, encompassing enterprise ownership, financial status, production capacity and research and development, show an improvement in economic structure between 2008 and 2013. In an interview with Xinhua News Agency, Ma Jiantang, Commissioner of the NBS, said the census will serve as an important reference for the formulation of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), enabling the nation to effectively carry out economic reforms. Edited excerpts of the interview

Compared with the results of the second national economic census, what changes have taken place in China's macro-economy?

Ma Jiantang: During the past five years, China has overcome the shock of the global financial crisis, pushed forward sustainable development and carried out structural reforms. As a whole, China's economy has seen a remarkable expansion in size and continual improvements in structure and efficiency.

First, economic aggregate has been on the rise. From 2008 to 2013, the number of legal entities and employees soared by 52.9 percent and 30.4 percent, respectively. Enterprise assets shot up by 125 percent. China's GDP in 2013 amounted to 58.8 trillion yuan ($9.49 trillion).

Second, economic structure has been optimized. The service industry is gaining ground. The added value of the service industry in 2013 stood at 27.59 billion yuan ($4.45 billion), accounting for 46.9 percent of the total GDP, up 5.1 percentage points from 2008. At the end of 2013, the number of legal entities and employees in the service industry made up 74.7 percent and 45.9 percent of the total, up 5.7 percentage points and 3.5 percentage points from 2008, respectively.

Census statistics also show signs of industrial transformation and upgrading, improved ownership structure, increasingly coordinated regional development, expanding average size of enterprises in less developed central and west China and enhanced job creation capacity.

Third, economic efficiency has increased steadily. Per-capita revenue of enterprises reached 781,000 yuan ($126,020) in 2013, an increase of 64.2 percent from 2008. The hi-tech manufacturing industry enjoyed profits of 723.4 billion yuan ($116.73 billion) in 2013, up 166 percent from 2008.

What kind of new trends in the economy do the census data indicate?

The census data show that China's economy has entered a "new normal" featuring economic slowdown, structural improvement and shift of growth points. Despite a drop in the GDP growth, changes have taken place in the service industry

The service industry has been developing rapidly and its structure has been continuously optimized.

While the traditional service sectors are held back by weak market demand and emerging industries, some key sectors and modern services have been progressing aggressively. The prospects of key service sectors such as commercial services, information services, and sci-tech services have been promising, especially for the Internet and related services which witnessed a 26-percent increase of revenue in 2013.

The manufacturing industry has been in the middle of transformation and upgrading, and strategic emerging industries have gained momentum.

At the end of 2013, the number of hi-tech manufacturing enterprises above a designated size-annual revenue from principal business standing of 20 million yuan ($3.23 million) or above--in China reached 26,894, accounting for 7.8 percent of the total, 1.3 percentage points higher than the result of the previous census. Their research and development (R&D) expenditure amounted to 203.4 billion yuan ($32.82 billion), 178 percent higher than the level in 2008.

Mixed-ownership and private economies have both experienced rapid growth, while state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have seen their vitality boosted.

At the end of 2013, the number of private enterprises amounted to 5.6 million, up 55.8 percent from 2008. The number of mixed-ownership companies including limited liability companies and joint stock companies also increased. Although the number of SOEs was on the decline, the assets of state-owned, state-holding and collectively-owned enterprises made up 41.9 percent of the total assets of industrial enterprises above the designated size.

The expenditure on R&D has shot up, while the innovation capacity has been steadily improving.

From 2008 to 2013, industrial enterprises saw an increase in R&D input. In 2013, industrial enterprises above the designated size across the nation spent 831.8 billion yuan ($134.22 billion) on R&D, up 171 percent from 2008, which accounted for 70.2 percent of the country's total R&D expenditure, up 3.6 percentage points from 2008.

What effects will the economic census have on the formulation of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20)?

The census gives a general picture of the development scale and layout of China's manufacturing and service industries, current conditions of China's industrial organization, structure and technology, the composition of factors of production, as well as the development of strategic emerging industries, small and micro businesses and hi-tech manufacturing industries.

It will help the government to accurately evaluate the policy effect of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) and provides data support for the formulation of the 13th Five-Year Plan.

Census data show that China's economy is experiencing a slowdown, structural upgrading and shift of growth points, which is an inevitable course of development. To reasonably set the economic growth targets during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the Chinese Government should shift the focus to elevating growth quality and pushing forward economic transformation.

Now, arrays of profound changes are taking place in the Chinese economy: The service industry is replacing the manufacturing industry to become the growth engine; individualized and diversified consumption is becoming the mainstream; innovation is morphing into a driving force of economic growth; and the market is playing a more decisive role.

At the same time, a series of problems have to be tackled, such as overcapacity in traditional manufacturing sectors, companies' lack of innovation capacity and relatively low production efficiency in the service industry.

An accurate grasp of these changes and problems can make the 13th Five-Year Plan more forward-looking and effective.

By formulating and carrying out the 13th Five-Year Plan, China will accelerate the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry and eliminate overcapacity, fuel the development of the service industry, propel consumption upgrading, deepen reforms and realize innovation-driven growth. CA follow:TrackingtheEconomy