MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, March 29th 2024 - 12:04 UTC

 

 

China's economy expands 7.4% in first quarter and retail sales in March 12.2%

Thursday, April 17th 2014 - 04:58 UTC
Full article 1 comment
Beijing has taken steps to prop the domestic market and spending in the railway system Beijing has taken steps to prop the domestic market and spending in the railway system

China's economy expanded by 7.4% in the first quarter of the year, better than what many were expecting, but it is a slowdown from 7.7% growth in the final quarter of last year. Other data released with the gross domestic product (GDP) figure showed industrial output rising 8.8% in March from one year ago.

 Retail sales for the month of March spiked by 12.2%, underscoring China's efforts to boost economic growth via domestic consumption.

Last year China set its growth target for 2014 at 7.5%, part of efforts to stabilise the economy after years of fast-paced expansion.

China's growth data is closely watched around the region. A slowdown could hurt Asian economies especially those which export commodities and industrial components to the world's second largest economy.

A sluggish start for the year is not uncommon, due to the Lunar New Year holiday when many businesses and factories shut down operations for about two weeks. But recent data from the manufacturing as well as industrial sectors have been weak, raising fears of a prolonged slowdown.

Amid these concerns, China has recently taken more steps to give a jolt to its economy.

A mini-stimulus measure announced earlier this month will see Beijing extending a tax break for small and medium-sized companies, and ramping up spending on China's railway infrastructure.

In addition, the mainland also took steps to open up its capital markets by announcing a tie-up with Hong Kong, allowing for cross-border stock investment. The pilot scheme is scheduled to take off in about six months.

And in January, China launched a free-trade zone in Shanghai, seen as a test bed for reforms in key areas of the economy, such as the financial and telecom sectors which previously were tightly controlled by the government.

China also said it will allow foreign firms to make gaming consoles within the free-trade zone and sell them across China - lifting a ban on gaming consoles which had been in place since 2000.

Analysts are hopeful that the Chinese economy has bottomed out, and will perform better later in the year. Earlier this month the World Bank lowered its growth forecast for the Chinese economy this year to 7.6% for this year from a previous prediction of 7.7%.

Categories: Economy, International.
Tags: China economy.

Top Comments

Disclaimer & comment rules
  • Briton

    We make you grow,
    one day, you will repay us, and suffer we will,

    its just a pity that we cant build or make more things for ourselves , instead of relying on cheap imports,
    just a thought.

    Apr 17th, 2014 - 07:16 pm 0
Read all comments

Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!