Chinese Statistics Bureau: China’s GDP grows 5.3 pct. in Q1

TOKYO, China's economy grew 5.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, official data showed Tuesday. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the world's No. 2 economy in the January-March period was up from the 5.2 percent expansion in the fourth quarter last year, and above the government-set 2024 growth target of around 5.0 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. On a quarterly basis, GDP increased 1.6 percent in the first three months of this year. Other figures released by the bureau showed that value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, expanded 6.1 percent, and fixed-asset investment rose 4.5 percent from a year ago in the first quarter. The country's GDP hit CNY 29.6 trillion (USD 4.2 trillion) during this period, the NBS said. "China's high-quality development has made new achievements in the first quarter. The national economy has sustained recovery momentum and got off to a good start," Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the bureau told a press conference in Beijing. According to state-run Xinhua News Agency, Sheng mentioned positive factors during the period such as rising production demand, stable employment and prices, and growing market confidence. "These positive factors driving economic recovery are accumulating and strengthening, laying a good foundation for full-year growth," he said. The official also attributed the upbeat momentum in the first quarter to the implementation of supportive government policies and intensified macro-control efforts. In 2023, China's GDP grew 5.2 percent year, meeting the country's annual target of around 5 percent. Source: Kuwait News Agency