China’s economy continued its rebound in the first half of 2024, with the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growing by 5% year-on-year to reach 61.68 trillion yuan ($8.49 trillion), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Monday.
In the second quarter, the economy rose by 4.7% compared to the same period a year earlier, following a 5.3% growth in the first quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, China’s GDP increased by 0.7% in the second quarter.
The steady economic performance was driven by a 5.3% year-on-year increase in the country’s value-added industrial output in June, a slight slowdown from the 5.6% rise in May. For the first half of the year, industrial output grew by 6% compared to the same period last year.
Retail sales, a key indicator of consumer spending, grew by 2% year-on-year in June, down from the 3.7% growth in May. In the first six months of 2024, retail sales rose by 3.7% compared to the same period in 2023.
Fixed-asset investment, a gauge of expenditures on infrastructure, property, and equipment, grew by 3.9% in the January-June period compared to a year earlier, slightly lower than the 4% increase recorded in the first five months of the year.
The surveyed urban unemployment rate remained flat at 5% in June, the same as the previous month.
Despite the overall positive performance, the NBS warned of pressures from a complicated external environment and a lack of effective domestic demand, calling for more efforts to consolidate the foundation for the economic recovery.
“China’s economy has maintained a steady rebound in the first half of the year, but we must remain vigilant to the challenges ahead,” said NBS spokesperson Li Hui. “The government will continue to implement targeted policies to support economic growth and address any potential headwinds.”
