China’s economy grows by a record 18.3% in first quarter

China’s economy expanded in the first quarter of the present financial year as the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) grew by a record 18.3%, reported AFP. It’s the biggest jump in GDP since the country started keeping records three decades back.

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Notably, China was the only major economy that grew in 2020 as the world struggled with the novel coronavirus, the disease that first emerged in the Asian nation. Although it imposed a harsh lockdown, China was the quickest to recover, supported by industrial activity and better-than-expected exports.

“The national economy made a good start,” National Bureau of Statistics spokeswoman Liu Aihua told reporters Friday, reported AFP.

Among the reasons behind the sharp spike in China’s GDP are the low base figure of last year and the increase of working days due to staff staying put during the Lunar New Year” holiday, said Liu.

However, she added that quarter-on-quarter growth has “demonstrated a steady recovery”.

The country’s economy grew across key sectors.

In March, the country’s industrial output rose 14.1% on-year, bringing first-quarter growth to 24.5%, the official data showed.

Retail sales surged 34.2%, picking up from the first two months and bringing first-quarter growth to 33.9% as life largely returned to normal.

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In March, the urban unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 5.3%, a figure analysts are watching closely with China’s consumption rebound behind that of its industrial sectors.

However, Liu warned that that the international landscape still contained “high uncertainties”.