By catching up at the end of the year, the Chinese economy exceeded the government’s official growth target. As the statistics office in Beijing announced, the second largest economy grew by 5.2 percent.
As in the year as a whole, the economy grew by 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter. In the previous three quarters, the Chinese economy grew by 4.5 percent, 6.3 percent and 4.9 percent. The government’s growth target for the year as a whole was around five percent.
Sign of continued uncertainty
Recently, the export-driven economy suffered primarily from weak global demand, the crisis in the real estate market and weak domestic consumption. The growth target for the current year will be announced in March when the People’s Congress meets for its annual session.
After the strict Corona rules ended, the economy initially grew significantly, but then quickly lost momentum. In addition, foreign companies have increasingly withdrawn their profits generated in China, which is seen as a sign of ongoing uncertainty.
China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang had already revealed the growth target of 5.2 percent the day before in a speech at the economic forum in Davos. In 2023, the economy of the country with around 1.4 billion inhabitants recovered, said China’s number two.
Li is courting foreign investment
China did not need “massive stimulus” to boost its economy and did not accept short-term growth with long-term risks, said Li. The premier attracted foreign investment and announced that China wanted to open up further.
As a sign of economic stabilization, China’s exports picked up again in December. Overall, however, 2023 was a difficult year for Chinese foreign trade. Due, among other things, to weaker global demand, exports fell by 4.6 percent. China’s imports fell by 5.5 percent.
