China’s GDP Grows by 5.3% in First Quarter

China’s economy made a stronger-than-expected start to the year, even as the crisis in its property sector deepened.

According to official data, GDP expanded by 5.3 per cent in the first three months of 2024, compared to a year earlier.

That beat expectations the world’s second largest economy could see growth slow to 4.6 per cent in the first quarter.

Last month, Beijing set an ambitious annual growth target for world’s second largest economy of “around 5 per cent”.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics also showed first quarter retail sales growth, a key gauge of China’s consumer confidence, fell to 3.1 per cent.

In the same period property investment fell 9.5 per cent, highlighting the challenges faced by China’s real estate firms.