China’s economy got off to a good start in the first quarter of 2022, despite challenges posed by an increasingly complex international environment and resurgences of COVID-19 cases in the country.
The country’s gross domestic product grew 4.8 percent year on year to 27.02 trillion yuan (regarding $4.24 trillion) in the first quarter of 2022, compared with 4 percent growth in the fourth quarter last year. , we learned on Monday from data published by the State Bureau of Statistics (BES).
The economy showed stable performance with continued recovery as China balanced epidemic control with economic and social development, BES spokesperson Fu Linghui said at a press briefing. .
After a strong rebound in 2021, China experienced unexpected challenges earlier this year amid an unstable global situation and multiple sporadic outbreaks of COVID-19 in the country. Downward economic pressure is building, and some major indicators have reported weaker growth, Fu said.
“However, the long-term economic fundamentals remain sound, and the continued momentum of economic recovery has not changed,” Fu said, stressing that the country has the confidence and capacity to overcome these difficulties.
Value-added industrial production rose 6.5% year on year in the first quarter, while fixed capital investment jumped 9.3%. Retail sales of consumer goods rose 3.3%.
The recorded urban unemployment rate stood at 5.5% during the first quarter. A total of 2.85 million new urban jobs were created during this period.
