China economy pursuits further rebounding
China’s economic growth has rebounded hitting targets above six per cent while taking new foreign investment levels to the top spot from the US. “The national economy made a good start,” said China’s National Bureau of Statistics, which released the first quarter data.
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 per cent over a year ago, while retail sales grew 34.2 per cent.
China only one of major economies showing economic growth in 2020
Yue Su, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s principal economist for China, while the latest figures show that the country’s economic recovery is broad-based, some production and export activity could have been “front-loaded” into the first quarter, suggesting slower growth ahead.
“Trade performance and domestic industrial activities for the rest of year might not be able to maintain such strong momentum, due to lack of measures to stimulate domestic economy,” she said.
The figures nevertheless suggest China has continued to gain economic momentum. Helped by strict virus containment measures and emergency relief for businesses, the economy has recovered steadily since the pandemic hit.
Despite a calamitous start to the year, China was the only major economy to register growth in 2020 albeit its weakest in decades, at 2.3 per cent. China has set an economic growth target of six per cent for 2021, after scrapping its target last year.
©HKSG Group Media Ltd.
