The Chinese economy got off to a good start in 2019 as more indicators showed positive signs of stabilization for the first quarter of this year.
The world’s largest developing economy beat market expectations to advance 6.4 percent year-on-year in Q1, remaining flat with the GDP expansion in the previous quarter, data from the National Bureau of Statistics or NBS showed on Wednesday.
Fresh data released on April 17 added to good previous economic indicators, pointing to expansionary economic activity and improving economic structure.
The tertiary sector reported the strongest growth in added value by expanding 7 percent to reach 12.232 trillion yuan, which accounted for 57.3 percent of the total Q1 GDP, picking up by 0.6 percentage points compared with Q1 2018.
Q1 industrial output expanded 6.5 percent year-on-year, picking up from the 5.3-percent growth in the January-February period, while growth of retail sales of consumer goods also quickened from the first two months by growing 8.3 percent year-on-year, consolidating consumption’s prominent role in driving growth, which contributed 65.1 percent of the GDP in the first quarter.
Fixed-assets investment, property investment and trade in Q1 all grew faster than the January-February period, with signs of optimizing structure such as robust investment in high-tech manufacturing and services.
The surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas edged down by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, while per capita disposable income climbed 6.8 percent year-on-year in real terms.
The Chinese economy performed within an appropriate range in Q1, with majority of the indicators faring better than expectations in March, NBS spokesperson Mao Shengyong told a news conference. “Market expectations are improving and positive factors are mounting.”
The NBS, in its statement, attributed the stable growth to efforts in pushing forward high-quality development and supply-side structural reforms.
The People’s Bank of China said on April 15 that it would strengthen coordination between monetary, fiscal and other policies to keep growth stable and forestall risks.
The stable Q1 performance has laid a sound foundation for the stable and healthy economic development of the whole year, the NBS said.
China aims to expand its GDP by 6-6.5 percent this year.
(Source:ourjiangsu.com)
