Update: China’s First-Quarter GDP Grows 4.5% on Pick-Up in Consumption, Industrial Production

China’s GDP grew 4.5% year-on-year in the first quarter, official data showed Tuesday, beating expectations as the expansion in consumption and industrial production picked up speed after the country scrapped its Covid restrictions.

The growth rate topped the average 3.8% estimate from a recent Caixin survey of economists. It also exceeded China’s 2.9% GDP growth in the fourth quarter, through most of which the country was still sticking to its stringent “zero-Covid” policy.