Chinese Economy Beats Expectation, Grows by 4.8% in Q1

Chinese economy grew by 4.8% in the first quarter of the year, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

The world’s second-largest economy recorded a 9.3% year-on-year increase in fixed-asset investment in the quarter, higher than the 8.5% growth predicted by experts. Investment in the manufacturing sector expanded by 15.6% in the first quarter from a year ago while infrastructure grew by 8.5% over the same period.

The country’s industrial production increased by 5% in the month of March, better than the 4.5% projected before the release.

However, China’s retail sales dipped by 3.5% from a year earlier. More than a 1.6% decline predicted by analysts polled by Reuters.

At the beginning of March, China struggled to curb its worst Covid outbreak since the initial phase of the pandemic in 2020. Back then, lockdowns across more than half the country resulted in a 6.8% contraction in first quarter growth from a year earlier.

“We must be aware that with the domestic and international environment becoming increasingly complicated and uncertain, the economic development is facing significant difficulties and challenges,” the bureau said in a statement.

The unemployment rate across 31 major Chinese cities rose from 5.4% in February to 6% in March — the highest on record according to official data going back to 2018.

“This indicates the unemployment problem in the large cities has become more severe than when the Covid Pandemic started in 2020,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.