China’s economic growth in the April-June period slowed to a real 4.7 percent from a year earlier, official data showed Monday, with the result likely increasing calls for more stimulus at a key Communist Party meeting amid property woes and weak demand.
The expansion in inflation-adjusted gross domestic product of the world’s second-largest economy decelerated from a 5.3 percent year-on-year growth in the previous three months to March, a period boosted by stimulus measures, and came in below market expectations of a 5.1 percent increase.
Beijing has set a growth target of around 5 percent for 2024.
File photo shows the Chinese flag hoisted in a residential area of Shenyang, Liaoning Province, in April 2024. Construction in the area was halted at the time. (Kyodo)
The latest GDP data came as China’s ruling Communist Party started a key four-day meeting on Monday to discuss ways to deepen reforms amid economic challenges and set mid- to long-term economic policy.
On a quarter-to-quarter basis, China’s GDP in the April-June period rose 0.7 percent from the previous quarter, compared with revised growth of 1.5 percent in the January-March period. In the first half of 2024, GDP grew 5.0 percent on year.
The National Bureau of Statistics said China’s economy was “generally stable with steady progress,” accelerating the “growth of new driving forces and new achievements of the high-quality development.”
“However, we should be aware that the external environment is intertwined and complex, the domestic effective demand remains insufficient and the foundation for sound economic recovery and growth still needs to be strengthened,” the bureau warned.
A spokesperson of the bureau said in a statement it was not easy for the country to obtain the first-half economic achievements, pointing to weak growth in the global economy, persistent inflation, geopolitical conflicts and international trade frictions, apparently referring to Beijing’s disputes with Western countries.
Second-quarter growth was also affected by short-term factors such as extreme weather and flood disasters, the spokesperson added, warning of rising uncertainty in the external environment as well as many domestic difficulties and challenges in the latter half of the year.
In the first half of 2024, retail sales of consumer goods increased 3.7 percent on-year, slowing from a 4.7 percent expansion in the January-March period.
Investment in fixed assets, excluding rural households, rose 3.9 percent, decelerating from 4.5 percent growth in the previous three months. Investment in real estate development dropped 10.1 percent, further worsening from a 9.5 percent fall in the first quarter of 2024.
In the first six months of the year, industrial production in China, dubbed the “world’s factory,” grew 6.0 percent from the previous year. The total value of exports climbed 6.9 percent.
At a World Economic Forum meeting in Dalian, northeastern China, in late June, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Beijing is “confident and capable” of achieving the annual growth target of around 5 percent this year, saying the Chinese economy has “sustained the momentum of recovery” since the start of 2023.
The bureau skipped a press conference usually held for the GDP release and only issued data on its website, creating speculation that the convening of the key Communist Party meeting may have been behind the news conference cancellation.