China GDP Annual Growth Rate1989-2021 Data | 2022-2023 Forecast | Calendar

The Chinese economy advanced 18.3 percent year-on-year in the March quarter 2021, accelerating sharply from a 6.5 percent growth in the fourth quarter and compared with market consensus of 19 percent. This was the strongest pace of expansion since the series began in 1992, boosted by strengthening domestic and global demand, strict virus containment measures, and continued fiscal and monetary support. The latest reading reflected a low comparison base in 2020 when activity plunged due to the COVID-19 shocks. For 2021, China expects the economy to grow by more than 6%. However, the services sector and smaller firms still faced challenges, while consumer inflation was likely to remain moderate, National Bureau of Statistics spokeswoman Liu Aihua said. In 2020, the country's GDP expanded 2.3%, the slowest pace in more than four decades.

China has set its 2021 economic growth target at more than 6%, Premier Li Keqiang said in his annual work report on Friday. Chinese leaders announced that the world’s second-largest economy intends to keep consumer price inflation at around 3% and seeks a budget deficit goal of about 3.2% of GDP. The government also aims for an urban unemployment rate of approximately 5.5% and plans to create more than 11 million new urban jobs. In 2020, the country's GDP expanded 2.3%, the slowest pace in more than four decades. Meantime, China's 2021 defense spending will rise 6.8% yoy to CNY 1.35 trillion, sixth year in a row of single-digit increase. The allocation will be used to boost the military's strategic capacity and preparedness across the board, amid challenges ranging from Taiwan to US missions in the South China Sea.

The Chinese economy advanced 6.5 percent year-on-year in the December quarter, after a 4.9 percent growth in the third quarter and above market consensus of 6.1 percent. The latest reading matched pre-pandemic growth rates, with industrial output rising the most in 3-1/2 years in December. For full 2020, the country's GDP expanded 2.3 percent, the slowest pace in more than four decades. Still, China is likely to be the only major economy to avoid contraction due to the COVID-19 shocks. In 2020, the primary sector went up 3 percent, with live pig inventory surging 31 percent. Industry advanced 2.6 percent, with manufacturing rising 3.4 percent, utilities 2 percent and mining 0.5 percent. The tertiary sector expanded 2.1 percent. Also, real estate investment grew 7 percent, with residential rising 7.6 percent and office building 5.4 percent.

The Chinese economy advanced 4.9% yoy in Q3 2020, faster than a 3.2% expansion in Q2 but below forecasts of a 5.2% growth. Despite the lower-than-expected reading, there are signs the expansion is finally extending to consumption after a state-backed industrial recovery. Retail sales rose 3.3% yoy in September, above forecasts and the highest reading so far this year. Industrial production went up 6.9%, also higher than expected and the biggest gain in 2020. For the first nine months of the year, the economy expanded 0.7%, recovering all the ground it lost in the first half, with the primary industry increasing 2.3%, the secondary 0.9% and the services sector 0.4%. Rising global demand for medical equipment and work-from-home technology has been boosting exports while government support including more fiscal spending, tax relief and cuts in lending rates and banks' reserve requirements has also helped to boost the recovery.