China's economy gathers steam for faster recovery amid pro-growth policies

ThisphototakenonNov.4,2022showsaneveningviewoftheLujiazuiareaineastChina"sShanghai.(Xinhua/WangXiang)

BEIJING,April19(Xinhua)--Chineseeconomyisexpectedtorecoveratafasterpaceaftermakingagoodstartin2023asgrowthmomentumisbuildinguponthegovernment"spro-growthmeasuresrangingfromexpandingdomesticdemandtoattractingforeigninvestment.

(相关资料图)

Despiteweakeningglobalgrowthandpersistentlyhighinflationinmajoreconomies,China"sgrossdomesticproduct(GDP)grewby4.5percentyearonyearinthefirstthreemonths,shiningasabrightspotintheeconomiclandscape.

Anincreasingnumberofpositivefactorsarecontributingtotheoverallimprovementineconomicoperation,MengWei,spokespersonfortheNationalDevelopmentandReformCommission,toldapressconferenceonWednesday,addingthatdomesticdemandisgraduallyexpanding,productionandsupplyarerecoveringatafasterpace,andpublicexpectationsarenotablyimproving.

Lookingahead,growthinthesecondquarterislikelytobesignificantlyfasterthaninthefirstquarter,saidFuLinghui,spokespersonwiththeNationalBureauofStatistics(NBS).

Chinawillintroducepragmaticandeffectivemeasuresinaduecoursetobolsterthegrowthmomentumandpromotesustainedeconomicrecovery,accordingtoMeng.

Thehigher-than-expectedgrowthrateinthefirstquarterwaspartlydrivenbyareboundinconsumption,aspeopleflockedtoshoppingmallsandrestaurants.

NBSdatashowedthatChina"sretailsalesgainedmomentuminQ1,up5.8percentyearonyear.Finalconsumptioncontributed66.6percenttooverallGDPgrowthinQ1.

Chinaisdrawinguprelateddocumentswithafocusonstabilizingbulkconsumption,improvingservicesconsumption,andexpandingconsumptioninruralareastobolstertherecoverytrend,Mengsaid.

Tostimulateautoconsumption,thecountrywillexpeditethebuildingofbatterychargingfacilitiesandparkingfacilitiesincities,andpromotenewenergyvehiclesinruralareas.

Aspartofeffortstopromotehigh-levelopeningup,Chinawillappropriatelyshortenthenegativelistforforeigninvestment,Mengadded.

Sheindicatedthatthegovernmentiscommittedtoadoptingmoremeasurestoactivelyleverageforeigninvestment,addingthatpoliciesdesignedtochannelmoreforeigninvestmenttowardsadvancedmanufacturing,high-endtechnologies,andmodernservices,aswellastothecentral,western,andnortheasternregionsofthecountry,willbefullyexecuted.

Effortswillalsobemadetoencouragemoreprivatecapitaltoparticipateintheconstructionofmajornationalprojects,andstepupcreditsupportforprivateinvestmentprojectsinaccordancewithmarketprinciples,Mengsaid.

Chineseauthorities,includingthePeople"sBankofChina,havealsotakenstepstostimulategrowth.InastatementreleasedlastFriday,thecentralbanksaiditwillmakeeveryefforttostabilizegrowth,employmentandprices,andexpanddomesticdemand.

Prioritywillbegiventoinfrastructureconstruction,andsupportwillbeprovidedforkeysectorsandweaklinksoftheeconomy,suchasinclusivefinance,greendevelopmentandsci-techinnovation,thecentralbankadded.

Onthefiscalfront,governmentspendingrose6.8percentyearonyeartohit6.79trillionyuan(about987.9billionU.S.dollars)inthefirstquarter,accordingtotheMinistryofFinance.

Sincethebeginningofthisyear,thecentralgovernmenthasmaintainedarelativelyhighexpenditureintensityandcontinuedtoimprovetheeffectivenessofthefiscalpolicy,saidtheministry,addingthatitwillmakesolideffortstocuttaxesandfeessothatpolicydividendscanbenefitbusinessentitiesmore.

Astheeconomicrecoverygainstraction,investmentbanksandinternationalorganizationshaveupgradedChina"sgrowthforecastsforthisyear.

JPMorganraisedits2023growthoutlookto6.4percent,upfromapreviousforecastof6percent,sayingthatthelatestquarterlyreportpointstofurthergrowthahead.

Citiraiseditsforecastto6.1percentfromitspreviousforecastof5.7percent,statingthattheChineseeconomyiswellontrackforitspost-COVIDrecoveryledbyconsumptionandservices.

TheInternationalMonetaryFundsaidinitslatestreportonTuesdaythatChinawillbethetopcontributortoglobalgrowthoverthenextfiveyears,withitssharesettobedoublethatoftheUnitedStates.

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