China’s GDP grew by 5.2% in 2023

This figure is higher than the target set by Beijing for last year

China’s GDP grew by 5.2% year-on-year in 2023, which is higher than the target set by Beijing (approximately 5%). This is reported by the Associated Press with reference to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The growth of the indicator in 2023 was probably facilitated by a low comparison base (in 2022, the Chinese economy showed growth of 3% y/y).

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the country’s GDP also increased by 5.2% y/y and by 1% q/q.

Industrial production in 2023 grew by 4.6% y/y, while retail sales of consumer goods grew by 7.2% y/y.

Investments in fixed assets – spending on factory equipment, construction, and other infrastructure projects to stimulate growth – increased by 3% year-on-year last year.

As NBS Chairman Kang Yi said, according to Reuters, China’s growth in 2023 was «hard won.» He added that in 2024, the economy faces a difficult external environment and insufficient demand.

The recovery of the Chinese economy, the agency notes, has been more fragile than analysts and investors had expected. Prospects for 2024 are clouded by a deepening real estate crisis, rising deflationary risks, and sluggish demand. Expectations that the world’s second-largest economy would show a strong rebound after the pandemic did not materialize. Weak consumer and business sentiment, rising local government debt, and slower global growth have affected jobs and investment.

As GMK Center reported earlier, China produced 1.19 billion tons of steel in 2023. The figure increased slightly compared to 2022 (by 5.3%), ending a two-year downward trend.