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(Yicai Global) April 16 -- The record 18.3 percent expansion in China’s economy in the first three months of this year was still less than expected.
Twenty chief economists at major Chinese financial institutions surveyed by Yicai Global had predicted growth of 19.1 percent.
Skewed by a year-earlier contraction of 6.8 percent following the emergence of the coronavirus, first-quarter GDP grew at the fastest pace since China began reporting data in 1993. The last time it gained by double digits was the second quarter of 2011.
GDP reached CNY24.93 trillion (USD3.82 trillion) in the three months ended March 31, the National Bureau of Statistics announced today.
Compared with the first quarter of 2019, GDP growth jumped 10.3 percent. Over the past two years, the first quarter has averaged a gain of about 5 percent.
Quarter-on-quarter growth slowed to 0.6 percent from an upwardly revised 3.2 percent in the last quarter of 2020.
Editor: Emmi Laine