A traffic cop prepares to inspect a truck at a gas station near Shanghai, which has ordered tighter restrictions on people entering and exiting the city as China battles its worst Covid outbreak since the pandemic began in 2020 fights.
Yin Liqin | China News Service via Getty Images
BEIJING — China’s GDP grew faster-than-expected in the first quarter despite the impact of Covid lockdowns in parts of the country in March, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.
GDP grew 4.8% in the first quarter, beating expectations for a 4.4% year-on-year increase.
Fixed investment rose 9.3% year-on-year in the first quarter, beating expectations for 8.5% growth. Industrial production rose 5% in March, beating the 4.5% growth forecast.
However, March retail sales fell by a more-than-expected 3.5% year-on-year. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 1.6% decline.
Since March, the country has been struggling to contain its worst Covid outbreak since the pandemic’s early stages in 2020. Back then, lockdowns in more than half the country caused first-quarter growth to fall by 6.8% year over year.
“We must be aware that economic development faces significant difficulties and challenges in light of the increasingly complicated and uncertain domestic and international environment,” the bureau said in a statement.
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The urban unemployment rate rose to 5.8% in March from 5.5% in February. The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds remained significantly higher at 16%.
Retail sales rose 3.3% year over year in the first quarter, but the apparel, autos and furniture subcategories still posted declines for the period.
Within retail sales, jewelry fell the most, falling 17.9% year-on-year in March. This was followed by a 16.4% drop in catering and a 12.7% drop in apparel and footwear, the data showed.
“We must coordinate efforts on prevention and control of Covid-19 and economic and social development, make economic stability our top priority and pursue progress while ensuring stability, and the task of ensuring stable growth an even more prominent position concede,” as the presidency called it.
Although economic numbers released for January and February beat expectations, March figures are beginning to reflect the impact of lockdowns and travel restrictions in economic hubs like the coastal city of Shanghai.
Exports, a key driver of China’s growth, rose a more-than-expected 14.7% in March, but imports unexpectedly fell 0.1% from a year earlier, according to data released last week.
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