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China reported a growth in economy of more than what was expected in the first three months of 2024, new data shows, as the country made efforts to build more factories and exported enormous goods to tackle a severe real estate crisis and sluggish spending at home.
On Tuesday, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the economy grew 1.6 percent in the first quarter over the previous three months. When projected out for the entire year, the first-quarter data indicates that China’s economy was growing at an annual rate of about 6.6 percent.
Retail sales increased at a modest pace of 4.7 percent compared with the first three months of last year, and were particularly weak in March.
To stimulate growth, China, the world’s second-largest economy, turned to a familiar tactic: investing heavily in its manufacturing sector, including a binge of new factories that have helped to propel sales around the world of solar panels, electric cars and other products.
But China’s bet on exports has worried many foreign countries and companies. They fear that a flood of Chinese shipments to distant markets may undermine their manufacturing industries and lead to layoffs.
For the year, China has set a growth target of about 5 percent, a goal that many economists had viewed as ambitious, although some have recently upgraded their forecasts. Last year, China’s economy grew 5.2 percent.
Output was 5.3 percent higher in the first three months of this year than during the same period last year, the statistics bureau announced on Tuesday, exceeding economists’ forecasts.
A breakneck pace of factory investments, up 9.9 percent from a year ago, was central to China’s growth. Strong exports early this year also helped.
The value of exports rose 7 percent in dollar terms in January and February from a year earlier, and 10 percent when measured in China’s currency, the renminbi. But the actual contribution from exports to the country’s economy was considerably greater, as falling prices obscured the full extent of China’s export gains.
Guo Tingting, a vice minister of commerce, said at a news conference last month that the physical volume of exports had climbed 20 percent in January and February over last year. Exports faltered somewhat in March, however.
With street festivals and other activities, the government has encouraged families to spend more even as many in China have stepped up their savings to offset a recent nosedive in the value of their apartments.
Domestic tourism spending and box office ticket sales both rose during Lunar New Year in February, easily exceeding levels before the Covid-19 pandemic. Smartphone sales have also climbed — although not for Apple — as Chinese buyers increasingly choose local brands.
前三個月中國經濟成長5.3% 超預期
新數據顯示，中國報告2024年前三個月的經濟成長超過預期，中國努力建造更多工廠並出口大量商品，以應對嚴重的房地產危機和國內消費低迷。
週二，中國國家統計局表示，第一季經濟較前三個月成長 1.6%。 從全年來看，第一季數據顯示，中國經濟年增率約為6.6%。
與去年前三個月相比，零售額小幅成長 4.7%，其中 3 月尤其疲軟。
為了刺激成長，世界第二大經濟體中國採取了熟悉的策略：大力投資製造業，包括大量新建工廠，這些工廠有助於推動太陽能板、電動車和其他產品在世界各地的銷售。
但中國對出口的押注讓許多外國和企業感到擔憂。 他們擔心，大量中國貨物運往遙遠的市場可能會損害他們的製造業並導致裁員。
中國今年設定了約 5% 的成長目標，許多經濟學家認為這個目標雄心勃勃，儘管一些經濟學家最近上調了預測。 去年，中國經濟成長了 5.2%。
國家統計局週二宣布，今年前三個月產出比去年同期成長5.3%，超出了經濟學家的預測。
工廠投資的驚人速度比一年前成長了 9.9%，這是中國經濟成長的核心。 今年年初強勁的出口也起了一定作用。
1月和2月，以美元計算的出口額年增7%，以人民幣計算的出口額成長10%。 但出口對國家經濟的實際貢獻要大得多，因為價格下跌掩蓋了中國出口收益的全部內容。
商務部副部長郭婷婷在上個月的記者會上表示，1月和2月實物出口量比去年增加20%。 然而，三月出口略有下滑。
政府透過街頭節日和其他活動鼓勵家庭增加消費，儘管許多中國人增加了儲蓄，以抵消近期公寓價值的暴跌。
2 月農曆新年期間，國內旅遊支出和票房收入雙雙上漲，輕鬆超過 Covid-19 大流行之前的水平。 隨著中國買家越來越多地選擇本土品牌，智慧型手機銷售也有所上升（儘管蘋果的銷售量有所上升）。
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