Opinion: China’s Economic Data Points Aren’t as Strong as They Seem

A worker registers product data at an export enterprise in Tangshan, North China’s Hebei province, on Feb. 22. Photo: VCG

China’s GDP grew 4.5% year-on-year in the first quarter, and total retail sales surged 10.6% in March. Both are well above market expectations, but there are some issues that deserve attention.

The year-on-year growth rate of total retail sales was 7.1 percentage points higher than in the January-February period, seemingly suggesting that consumption rebounded with a vengeance. However, it is actually due to the fact that total retail sales in March last year contracted 3.5% year-on-year under the weight of the pandemic.