China recorded its biggest jump in GDP in nearly three decades in the first quarter of this year.
According to the BBC, China’s economy grew 18.3% in the first quarter compared to the same quarter last year, the biggest growth spurt since China began keeping quarterly records in 1992.
However, the report cites a Reuters poll of economists as saying the figure is lower than predicted growth of 19%, and less indicative of strong growth when set against the economic contraction of 6.8% in the first quarter of 2020 caused by China’s nationwide lockdowns at the peak of its Covid-19 outbreak.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the figure showed that ‘the national economy made a good start’, but acknowledged: ‘We must be aware that the Covid-19 epidemic is still spreading globally and the international landscape is complicated with high uncertainties and instabilities.’
The BBC says other key figures released by China’s statistics department also point to a continuing rebound, but are also unusually strong because they are compared against extremely weak numbers from last year.
Industrial output for March rose 14.1% over a year ago, while retail sales grew 34.2%.
The report quotes Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at research and consultancy firm Oxford Economics as saying: ‘Promisingly, the monthly indicators suggest that industrial production, consumption and investment all gained pace in March on a sequential basis, following the weakness in the first two months.’
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