The chinese economy it grew 4.5% year-on-year in the first quarter, thanks to the resumption of activity in the country after the end of anti-COVID restrictions, according to official figures released on Tuesday.
It is the first portrait since 2019 of a Chinese economy free of the severe restrictions that allowed it to keep the coronavirus in check, but which hit businesses and supply chains.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the Asian giant’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.9%, weighed down by the sanitary measures linked to the pandemic that were maintained until December.
The growth announcement was accompanied by other good news for the Chinese economy: retail sales, a key indicator of consumption, rose 10.6% year-on-year in March and industrial production grew 3.9% compared to the same month in 2022, according to the National Statistics Office (ONE).
The zero COVID policy imposed by Beijing — based on strict quarantines and confinements, massive tests and movement restrictions — disrupted economic activity until it was dismantled in December.
In 2022, the GDP of China it grew just 3%, one of its worst performances in decades.
The world’s second largest economy also faces another series of challenges, such as high debt in the real estate sector, falling consumer confidence or inflation, and the threat of global recession.
The official figure for growth from January to March was well above the 3.8% projected by analysts in an AFP survey.
In the first quarter of last year, the economy expanded 4.8%, but fell sharply in the last months of the year.
The government has set a comparatively modest expansion target of 5% economic growth in 2023, and Premier Li Qiang has warned that it could be elusive.
An AFP poll of analysts projected that the Chinese economy would grow on average 5.3% this year, close to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast of 5.2%.
Even so, experts have warned that the international scenario could hinder China’s recovery.
Teewe Mevissen, an analyst at Rabobank, noted that “consumption recovered in the first quarter partly due to pent-up demand, but still not reaching pre-pandemic levels”.
“The drop in household wealth due to the real estate crisis and the loss of household income during the pandemic are factors why consumers have not spent more”, he added.
Source: Gestion
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