CHINA RECORDS 6.8pc Q1 GROWTH
World’s No. 2 economy beats forecast amid war on financial risk
CHINA’S economy grew a forecast-beating 6.8 per cent in the first quarter, official data showed yesterday, overcoming Beijing’s battle on financial risk and pollution and trade tensions with the United States.
The world’s No. 2 economy exceeded the 6.7 per cent growth forecast by analysts and equalled the fourth quarter performance.
“The national economy maintained the momentum of steady and sound development,” said Xing Zhihong, a spokesman for the National Statistics Bureau.
“The economic performance continued to improve and the economy was off to a good start.”
China’s sustained growth showed the economy had remained resilient even as Beijing kicked its war on pollution into a high gear during the winter months by cutting production for many steel smelters, mills and factories.
Fears of a trade war with the US have also roiled markets in recent weeks, with Washington and Beijing exchanging warnings of titfor-tat tariffs on a significant portion of their bilateral trade.
The tensions have yet to cause real harm to the economy, say analysts, but that may change in coming months when tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump are expected to be implemented.
The threatened tariffs on US$150 billion (RM583.17 billion) worth of Chinese goods, and US$50 billion of US goods, would dent economic growth on both sides of the Pacific, said analysts.
Output at China’s factories and workshops expanded 6.8 per cent year-on-year for the first quarter, matching the expansion seen during the same period last year, but below the 6.9 per cent forecast by Bloomberg News. Industrial production grew by six per cent last month.
Economic data showed China’s savers spending with retail sales growing 9.8 per cent in the first quarter on-year, outpacing forecasts of 9.7 per cent by Bloomberg News.
But the reading is down from 10 per cent in the same period of last year.