China’s GDP in the second quarter of 2023 grew by 6.3% year-on-year, higher than the previous value, but lower than market expectations, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. This announcement comes after the Bureau of Statistics also revealed that in the first half of the year, China’s GDP grew by 5.5% year-on-year.
The first quarter of 2023 saw GDP growth of 4.5% year-on-year, surpassing the previous quarter and the whole of the previous year, and surpassing market expectations. However, in the fourth quarter of 2022, China’s GDP only grew by 2.9% year-on-year, lower than the third quarter but higher than market expectations.
The second quarter of 2022 was impacted by the Shanghai epidemic and resulting lockdown measures, leading to minimal growth of 0.4% year-on-year. However, in the overall year of 2022, China’s GDP grew by 3.0% year-on-year, falling short of the government’s growth target of around 5.5%.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimated that China’s second-quarter GDP would grow by 6.9% year-on-year. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP grew by 0.8% in the second quarter, compared to a 2.2% increase in the first quarter.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on China’s economy, with GDP falling by 6.8% in the first quarter of 2020. However, China was able to quickly control the epidemic and resume production, leading to positive growth of 3.2% for the year. Overall, China’s GDP grew by 2.3% in 2020, making it the only major economy to achieve positive growth that year.
In 2021, China’s GDP grew by 8.1% year-on-year, surpassing the government’s target of 6% growth. However, the two-year average growth rate was 5.1%, indicating that the economy is still recovering from the impact of the epidemic. During the two sessions in 2023, the Chinese government set a growth target of around 5%, the lowest in more than 20 years. This reflects a cautious approach to economic recovery following the unexpected challenges faced during the pandemic.
In June, China’s retail sales increased by 3.1% year-on-year, although the growth rate was weaker than expected. These figures demonstrate the ongoing challenges and uncertainties faced by China’s economy as it strives to stabilize and recover from the pandemic’s impact.
(This article is from Dow Jones Chinese Financial News)