China's economy grows 6.9% in Jan-Mar 2017

The Dollar Business Bureau 

The economy of China grew 6.9% in the January-March period of 2017, as per the Chinese government data, beating estimates in the recent indication of stabilisation of the second-largest economy of the world.

The reading was an improvement compared to the average analyst expectations of 6.8% in a poll conducted by AFP.

“The national economy in the first quarter has maintained a momentum of steady and sound development," said National Bureau of Statistics of China in a statement on Monday.

The positive changes continue to emerge and the performance of key indicators is better than estimated, the Bureau added.

The Chinese government has cut down its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth target of 2017 to about 6.5 % as the economy, already growing at its slowest pace in two and half decades, faces a range of challenges.

The country’s economy grew 6.7% in the last year, the slowest since 1990.

The data also revealed that the industrial production in China recorded a growth of 7.6% year-on-year in the month of March, beating the expectations of 6.3% by Bloomberg.

Retail spending increase 10.9%, more than estimated, whereas the fixed-asset investments grew 9.2% in the first quarter of the current year, showing a little improvement from February.