China’s economy accelerated in the first quarter of this year, according to official data, even as lockdowns shut factories in March and forced tens of millions of residents to stay home. Economists believe the data overstates the strength of the world‘s second-largest economy.
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.8% in the first quarter from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday, faster than the 4% expansion in the fourth quarter of 2021 and faster than previously reported by The Wall Street Journal. 4.6% of economists polled by the Journal.
Challenges to economic growth have mounted, and Chinese government officials have faced a major test this year in maintaining economic dynamism. China’s “dynamic clearing” strategy to fight the virus is hitting consumer spending and hurting industrial production, as China’s economy grapples with a downturn in the real estate sector and regulatory overhauls in sectors such as technology and education.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia have sent commodity prices skyrocketing, driving up costs for businesses and disrupting global supply chains for wheat, oil, metals and other commodities. Rising inflation is hitting consumers in the U.S. and Europe, and has also dented demand for Chinese manufactured goods in overseas markets.
…