China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.5% year-on-year in the first quarter, reaching 28.5 trillion yuan, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed on April 18.
After recording its second-lowest GDP growth rate in over four decades of 3% in 2022, brought on in large part by the COVID-19-wrought disruptions, the People's Republic of China appears to have fully rebounded since shaking off all pandemic curbs.
Screenshot of data from National Bureau of Statistics of China.
© Photo : National Bureau of Statistics, China
The bureau released a flurry of economic indicators on Tuesday, showing that retail sales were up by 10.6% in March as compared to a year ago. Value-added service output jumped 5.4%, while value-added industrial production rose by 3% year-on-year.
Screenshot of data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showing Month-on-Month Growth Rate of Other Indicators.
© Photo
In the first quarter, investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) climbed 5.1%, reaching 10 trillion yuan. Investment in high-tech industries witnessed an increase of 16%, with investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services growing by 15.2% and 17.8%, respectively.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1.3%, while producer prices for industrial products dropped by 1.6%.
Commuters cross an intersection in the central business district during the morning rush hour in Beijing, Tuesday, April 18, 2023.
© AP Photo / Mark Schiefelbein
As far as imports and exports of goods in the first quarter are concerned, the total value came in at 9.8 trillion yuan, which is a 4.8-percent year-on-year increase. Regarding employment, it was overall seen as "stable", and the urban surveyed jobless rate had declined, standing at 5.3% in March, down from 5.6% in February.
The 5-percent GDP growth in the first quarter turned out to be higher than the 4-percent forecast by Chinese data provider Wind and a poll of economists carried out for Western media.
While the released data appeared to indicate a “steady recovery” and represented a “good start” for the year, the statistics bureau spokesman Fu Linghui told the media:
“However, we must be aware that the situation abroad is still complex and volatile, inadequate domestic demand remains prominent and the foundation for economic recovery is not solid yet.”
Beijing had set itself a quite modest 2023 GDP growth target at "around 5%" during the March meeting of the National People’s Congress, hoping to avert the rampant inflation and interest rate hikes witnessed in other countries.
During a media briefing, Li Qiang, the new premier, had stated that achieving the growth target of "around 5%" was not going to be easy, and the economy would face new headwinds.
Meanwhile, economists expect China to overtake the United States as the world’s largest economy by 2035. According to estimates by the International Monetary Fund based on purchasing power parity, the PRC already overtook the US several years ago.