Guangzhou (JLC), April 16, 2024 – China's GDP expanded by 5.3% year on year in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 on the back of stronger indicators including industrial output, exports, retail sales and investment, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Tuesday.
The country's GDP came in at CNY29.63 trillion in the first quarter, the NBS data showed.
The expansion indicated that China was well on track to achieve its full-year GDP growth target of around 5%.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, China's GDP grew 1.6% in Q1, the NBS data indicated.
China's value-added industrial output grew 6.1% year on year in Q1. In March alone, the industrial output rose 4.5% year on year, according to the NBS data.
In CNY terms, the total value of imports and exports of goods stood at about CNY10.17 trillion in Q1, an increase of 5.0% year on year. Among this, exports were about CNY5.74 trillion, up 4.9% year on year, while imports were about CNY4.43 trillion, up 5.0% year on year.
Retail sales of consumer goods – a key measurement of consumer spending – grew 4.7% year on year in Q1. In March, the figure grew 3.1% year on year, the NBS data showed.
Fixed-asset investment – a gauge of expenditure on items including infrastructure, property, machinery and equipment – rose 4.5% year on year in Q1, reaching CNY10.0 trillion. Specifically, investment in infrastructure grew 6.5% year on year, while that in manufacturing increased 9.9% year on year. Investment in the property sector dropped 9.5% year on year in Q1.
Employment and disposable income improve
The urban surveyed unemployment rate averaged 5.2% in Q1, versus 5.5% in the same period of last year, the NBS data showed.
The nationwide per capita disposable income of residents came in at CNY11,539 in Q1, a nominal growth of 6.2% year on year, the NBS data indicated.
