China’s economy showed a modest pickup for the first two months of the year, according to data published Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics, as Beijing reiterated its plan to bolster domestic consumption.
Retail sales rose by 4.0% in the January-February period from a year ago, compared with the 3.7% year-on-year growth in December and in line with Reuters estimates.
Industrial production climbed 5.9% in the first two months of the year from a year ago, slower than the 6.2% growth in December, but faster than a 5.3% expansion forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll. Industrial output growth in the equipment-making and high-tech manufacturing sector accelerated, the statement said, growing 10.6% and 9.1% on year, respectively.
Fixed asset investment, reported on a year-to-date basis, rose by 4.1%, beating the 3.6% growth estimated by economists, a notable jump from the 3.2% increase last year.
The statistics agency attributed the improvement in economic activities at the start of the year to “sustained effects from several stimulus measures,” while flagging “a more complicated and challenging external environment, insufficient domestic demand and difficulties for enterprises in operation and production,” according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese statement.
“The foundation for a sustainable economic recovery is still unstable,” it added.
