Steel, stimulus drive China’s strongest economic growth since 2015
BEIJING: China’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter as higher government infrastructure spending and a gravity-defying property boom helped boost industrial output by the most in over two years.
Growth of 6.9 per cent was the fastest in six quarters, with forecast-beating March investment, retail sales and exports all suggesting the economy may carry solid momentum into spring.
But most analysts say the first quarter may be as good as it gets for China, and worry Beijing is still relying too heavily on stimulus and “old economy” growth drivers, primarily the steel industry and a property market that is overheating.
“The Chinese government has a tendency to rely on infrastructure development to sustain growth in the long term,” economists at ANZ said in a note.
“The question is whether this investment-led model is sustainable as the authorities have trouble taming credit. We need to watch closely whether China’s top leadership will send a stronger signal to tighten monetary policy shortly.”
Even as top officials vowed to crack down on debt risks, China’s total social financing, a broad measure of credit and liquidity in the economy, reached a record 6.93 trillion yuan (US$1 trillion) in the quarter – roughly equivalent to the size of Mexico’s economy.
Spending by the central and local governments rose 21 per cent from a year earlier.
That helped goose the pace of growth in the first quarter well above the government’s 2017 target of around 6.5 per cent, and pipped economists’ forecasts of 6.8 per cent year-on-year.
Such a strong bolt from the gate could see Beijing once again meet its annual growth target, even if activity starts to fade later in the year, as many analysts widely expect.
“Main indicators were better than expected...which laid a good foundation for achieving the fullyear growth goals,” statistics spokesman Mao Shengyong said at a news conference.
Once again, China’s policymakers leaned on infrastructure and real estate investment to drive expansion.
Growth in both areas has accelerated from last year and helped offset slightly weaker growth in the services sector. — Reuters