China’s economy expanded 18.3% in the first three months of 2021, its fastest year-on-year rate for any quarter on record, highlighting the extent to which the country has rebounded from the coronavirus pandemic, reported the Financial Times.
Gross domestic product growth, which was marginally below expectations, was so unusually high because it was compared with a period in which the economy suffered a contraction for the first time in decades. The data nonetheless underscored the rapid pace of recovery in China.
“Generally speaking, the national economy in the first quarter presented continued momentum of stable recovery,” China’s National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.
The sharp jump in the first quarter, which was far higher than in any period since quarterly reporting began in the early 1990s, was again supported by industrial production. The metric added 24.5% in the first quarter and alongside booming exports has helped prop up growth over the past year, though it missed expectations in March and only rose 14.1% year-on-year, reported the FT.
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