The Chinese economy grows by 4.5 percent in the first quarter of 2023

BEIJING, April 18 / Data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics today showed that China’s gross domestic product grew by 4.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023 with economic activities gaining momentum.

Fu Lingwei, a spokesman for China’s National Bureau of Statistics, said the market outlook has improved significantly since the beginning of the year. And that the rate of growth of the economy is expected to accelerate significantly in the second quarter compared to the first quarter due to the low comparison base in the same period last year.

According to the data, total retail sales of consumer goods rose 5.8 percent year on year. In March, consumer spending rose 10.6 percent year on year, up 7.1 percentage points from the first two months. Investment in fixed assets grew 5.1 percent year on year in the first quarter while the total value added of large industrial enterprises grew 3.0 percent in the same period.

A recent Central Bank survey of depositors showed that “tourism” tops the list of the expected increase in spending in the second quarter.

China has set a target of 5 percent GDP growth for this year.