China exceeds Q1 GDP expectations amid growth
The IMF warned that China's troubled property sector could impede economic recovery.
China's economy surpassed expectations in the first quarter of 2024, an analysis by AFP reveals, as data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that for the first three months of the year, GDP rose 5.3%, compared with 5.2 in the previous quarter.
"The national economy continued the good momentum of a rebound," the NBS said, calling it a "good start".
Dan Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China, told AFP: "Consumption and housing investment (were) the main drag, while manufacturing and infrastructure were the main engines."
It reflects "the fundamental policy shift from a focus on (the) consumer market and service sector to... industrial growth".
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A report by a multinational think tank, including scholars from the US, Russia, Canada, India, and China, forecasts that China's GDP will likely surpass that of the US around 2035, making it the world's largest economy. The report suggests that China's robust growth will drive the global economy forward.
The report also emphasized that China must depend on sustained and cumulative "compounding interest" to set its vision for 2035. This entails gradually achieving high-quality development and fostering the cultivation and development of new high-quality productive forces.
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The ambitious estimate was one of the 10 visions outlined for China in 2035 in a joint research report by a multinational think tank team, which included the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China.