GDP down but shows clear recovery in March
China’s gross domestic product posted negative growth in the first quarter but showed a clear recovery in March, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
It came in at 20.65 trillion yuan (US$ 2.91 trillion) in the first quarter, falling 6.8 percent year on year.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP in the first quarter plummeted 9.8 percent from the previous quarter’s 1.5 percent growth.
Secondary industries saw the sharpest decline of 9.6 percent, while primary industries and the service industry that account for almost 60 percent of total GDP fell 3.2 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively.
Yang Yu, a China Central Television commentator, said: “The economy achievement made in the quarter is really hard-won amid the fight against COVID-19 when lockdowns were implemented.”
He added that production of major industries and products and necessities was stable.
Major economic indicators all pointed to clear recovery in March with all declines significantly narrowing as work and production resumption accelerated.
China’s value-added industrial output in March was down just 1.1 percent year on year, almost back to normal levels, while that in the first quarter fell 8.4 percent.
Fixed-asset investment and retail sales also rebounded to a 9.4 percent decline and 15.8 percent decline, respectively, in March from a 24.5 percent slump and 20.5 percent drop in January and February.
Foreign trade of goods was down just 0.8 percent year on year in March compared with an average 9.5 percent decline in January and February. For the first quarter, foreign trade of goods fell 6.4 percent to 6.57 trillion yuan year on year.
Nomura noted: “Fixed-asset investment and retail sales growth are expected to improve further in April, but industrial output could face strong headwinds on slumping external demand.”
Earlier, the International Monetary Fund said in a report that China’s GDP will increase 1.2 percent in 2020 while the global economy will decline 3 percent.
