ECONOMIC GROWTH - BEIJING. China's economy grew at a record pace in the first quarter, official data showed on Friday, expanding 18.3% from a year earlier as the recovery from the coronavirus slump accelerated.
The growth in gross domestic product (GDP) was slower than the 19% forecast by economists in a Reuters poll, and followed 6.5% growth in the fourth quarter last year. It was the strongest growth since at least 1992 when official quarterly records started.
China's economy has largely recovered from last year's COVID-19 induced paralysis, fuelled by global vaccination progress, resilient exports and government stimulus.
The world's second-largest economy is expected to grow 8.6% this year, according to a Reuters poll, following a 2.3% rise last year, which was its weakest in 44 years but still made China the only major economy to avoid contraction.
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However, there are doubts China can sustain the rapid pace of expansion as the low comparison base seen in the first half of last year fades.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP rose 0.6% in January-March, the National Bureau of Statistics said, compared with expectations for a 1.5% rise and a revised 3.2% gain in the previous quarter.
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