China’s Economy Surprises with Faster-than-Expected Growth in Q1

In Qingzhou, Weifang City, Shandong Province of China, a worker is seen working on the assembly line of intelligent machinery. The workshop is buzzing with activity as workers focus on their tasks.

Recently released official data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics shows that the country’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter of the year. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.3% compared to the same period last year, surpassing the 4.6% growth forecasted by economists. This growth is an improvement from the 5.2% expansion seen in the previous quarter.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, China’s GDP increased by 1.6% in the first quarter, exceeding the 1.4% expectation from a Reuters poll. Beijing has set a growth target of around 5% for the year 2024. Last week, Morgan Stanley revised its real GDP forecast for China to 4.8%, up from the previous estimate of 4.2%.

Despite this positive news, there were some challenges earlier in the month with weak export and inflation data