China's economy grew by 5.3% in the first quarter amid rising spending due to the Lunar New Year
Kyiv • UNN
China's economy grew by 5.3% in the first quarter of 2024, exceeding expectations and, as indicated in Beijing, laying a good foundation for the whole year, thanks to government stimulus plans and an increase in industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment.
China's economy grew by 5.3% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period a year earlier, helped by government plans to stimulate economic demand, euronews reports, UNN writes.
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This figure was up from 1.6% in the previous quarter, exceeding the 4.6% forecast of Reuters analysts.
"Overall, the national economy got off to a good start in the first quarter... laying a good foundation for... the whole year," the National Bureau of Statistics of China said.
Nevertheless, the agency added that economic stability is not yet firm.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, China has faced a slowdown in demand and a prolonged real estate crisis.
Over the past few years, several Chinese real estate giants, including Evergreen and Country Garden, have defaulted on their debts.
There were few signs of improvement on this front in the last quarter, with real estate investment falling by 9.5% year-on-year.
However, growth was accelerated, as indicated, by China's industrial production, which increased by 6.1% in the last quarter compared to the same period last year.
Retail sales also grew by 4.7% year-on-year, while fixed capital investment in plants and equipment increased by 4.5%.
The celebration of the Lunar New Year, which began in late January, is also believed to have led to an increase in household spending in the last quarter.
Imports and exports solely from March were nonetheless down compared to the same month last year, with the latter sinking by 7.5%.
Beijing has set a GDP growth target of 5% this year. This is a historically low target, but it remains ambitious in the current environment.
