China's economic recovery quickened sharply in the first quarter to record growth of 18.3% from last year's deep coronavirus slump, propelled by stronger demand at home and abroad and continued government support for smaller firms.
While the jump in gross domestic product (GDP) undershot the 19% forecast by economists in a Reuters poll, the official data showed it was the fastest growth since quarterly records began in 1992 and up from 6.5% in the fourth quarter last year.
Aided by strict virus containment measures and emergency relief for businesses, the economy has recovered from a steep 6.8% slump in the first three months of 2020, when an outbreak of COVID-19 in the central city of Wuhan rapidly became a crippling pandemic that has killed about 3 million worldwide.
Retail sales increased 34.2% year-on-year in March, beating a 28.0% gain expected by analysts and stronger than the 33.8% jump seen in the first two months of the year.
Other data, however, showed a moderation in expansion with quarter-on-quarter growth slowing to 0.6% in January-March from a revised 3.2% in the previous quarter, missing expectations for a 1.5% increase.
Factory output grew 14.1% year-on-year in March, slowing from a 35.1% surge in the January-February period and lagging a forecast 17.2% rise, Reuters reported.
China's GDP grew just 2.3% rise last year, its weakest expansion in 44 years but still making it the only major economy to avoid contraction as other industrial powers struggled with the pandemic hit.
