On March 31, 2024, an employee worked on a smart machinery assembly line in a workshop in Qingzhou, Weifang City, Shandong Province, China.
VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images
Official data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed China’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter.
Gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 5.3% from January to March, higher than the 4.6% growth rate expected by economists polled by Reuters and higher than the 5.2% growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2023.
From a quarter-on-quarter perspective, China’s first-quarter GDP grew by 1.6%, while a Reuters survey expected 1.4%, and the revised fourth-quarter growth was 1.2%.
Beijing has set a growth target of around 5% in 2024.
Last week, Morgan Stanley raised China’s 2024 real GDP forecast to 4.8% from the previous 4.2%.
The world’s second-largest economy reported weak export and inflation data earlier this month, with both sets of data missing expectations.
Industrial output rose 4.5% year-on-year in March, below expectations of 6%. Retail sales grew 3.1% year-on-year, below expectations of 4.6%.
The unemployment rate in major cities fell slightly to 5.2%, ending a three-month upward trend.
The offshore yuan strengthened slightly immediately after the data was released before retreating to trade at 7.2724 against the dollar from a five-month high set earlier on Tuesday.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
About The Author
