China’s economy beat expectations to expand by 5.4 per cent in the first quarter, keeping it broadly on track to meet this year’s official target even as uncertainty remains high over how the economy will fare amid an unprecedented trade war with the United States.
The closely watched gross domestic product (GDP) figures, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday, came in above the 5.16 per cent forecast by economists polled by Chinese financial data provider Wind.
The year-on-year growth in the first three months of 2025 was in line with the 5.4 per cent expansion recorded in the previous quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy grew by 1.2 per cent.
Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the NBS, said the economy “got off to a good and steady start and maintained the recovery momentum, with innovation playing an increasingly leading role”, in the first quarter.
But he cautioned that “the external environment is becoming more complex and severe, the drive for the growth of effective domestic demand is insufficient, and the foundation for sustained economic recovery and growth is yet to be consolidated”.
