China’s economy grew 5.3% in the first quarter, beating expectations

An employee works on the assembly line of intelligent machinery at a workshop on March 31, 2024 in Qingzhou, Weifang City, Shandong Province of China.

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China’s economy grew 5.3% in the first quarter compared to a year ago, faster than the 4.6% growth expected by economists polled by Reuters.

Data released Tuesday by China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed that gross domestic product in the January to March period was higher compared to the 5.2% seen in the fourth quarter of 2023.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, China’s GDP grew 1.6% in the first quarter, compared to a Reuters poll expectations of 1.4% and a revised fourth quarter expansion of 1.2%.

Beijing has set a 2024 growth target of around 5%.

Last week, Morgan Stanley raised its 2024 real GDP forecast for China to 4.8%, from its previous expectation of 4.2%.

The world’s second largest economy saw weak export and inflation data earlier this month, with both sets of data coming in below expectations.

Industrial output for March grew 4.5% year on year, missing expectations of 6%. Retail sales grew 3.1% year on year, lower than expectations of 4.6%.

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