China's gross domestic product grew 5.3% year on year in the first quarter, above the government's 2024 growth target of about 5%. This is reported by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China, writes Ukrinform.
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The volume of the Chinese economy in January-March reached 29.6 trillion. yuan (about 4.2 trillion US dollars) and increased by 1.6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.
In the first quarter, the added value of the primary industry (mining and agriculture) amounted to 1.2 trillion yuan ($0.2 trillion), an increase of 3.3% compared to the same period last year, the volume of the secondary industry (manufacturing and processing) reached 10 , 9 trillion yuan ($1.5 trillion), an increase of 6%, and tertiary industry (service industry) amounted to 17.5 trillion yuan ($2.5 trillion), an increase of 5%.
At the same time, Reuters writes that despite the good quarterly figures, March data on exports, consumer inflation, producer prices and bank lending showed that the momentum of China's economic growth may weaken again.
So, industrial production in March grew by 4.5% compared to a year earlier, which is less than the 6% predicted by analysts and an increase of 7% in January-February.
The increase in retail sales, an indicator of consumption, reached 3.1% in March compared to March last year against projected growth of 4.6% and indicates a slowdown compared to growth of 5.5% in January-February.
Prior to the publication of the data, analysts surveyed by Reuters predicted growth of the Chinese economy this year year by 4.2% – 4.6%, which is below the target of 5%, and after the release of statistics for the first quarter, they raised forecasts to 4.8% – 4.9%.
According to their estimates, The main factor constraining the growth of China's economy remains the crisis in the real estate sector, as it affects business and consumer confidence, investment plans, company decisions to expand production and stock prices.