China economy grows faster than expected
By Mariko Oi
China’s economy made a stronger-than-expected start to the year, even as the crisis in its property sector deepened.
According to official data, gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5.3% in the first three months of 2024, compared to a year earlier.
That beat expectations the world’s second largest economy would see growth slow to 4.6% in the first quarter.
Last month, Beijing set an ambitious annual growth target for world’s second largest economy of “around 5%”.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also showed first quarter retail sales growth, a key gauge of China’s consumer confidence, fell to 3.1%.
“You cannot manufacture growth forever so we really need to see households come to the party if China wants to hit that around 5% growth target,” Harry Murphy Cruise from Moody’s Analytics told the BBC.
In the same period property investment fell 9.5%, highlighting the challenges faced by China’s real estate firms.
The figures came as China continues to struggle with an ongoing property market crisis. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the sector accounts for around 20% of the economy.
