People walk outside a shopping mall during a week-long National Day holiday in Beijing on October 7, 2025.
Greg Baker | Afp | Getty Images
China’s economy gathered steam in the first quarter, as robust exports growth offset tepid domestic demand, though the Iran war-fueled energy shock clouds growth outlook, threatening global demand.
Gross domestic product grew 5% in the three months to March, data from the National Statistics Bureau showed Thursday, accelerating from 4.5% in the prior quarter and exceeding economists’ forecast for a 4.8% growth in a Reuters poll.
Beijing had lowered its growth target this year to a range of 4.5% to 5%, the least ambitious goal on record going back to the early 1990s, in a tacit acknowledgement of demand slowdown and lingering trade tensions with the U.S.
“We should be aware that the external environment is becoming more complex and volatile,” the statistics bureau said in an English-language statement, warning of “acute” imbalance between “strong supply and weak demand.”
Separately, urban fixed-asset investment, including real estate and infrastructure investment, climbed 1.7% in the first quarter from a year earlier, missing expectations for a 1.9% growth in a Reuters poll. Investment in the property sector dropped 11.2%.
In March, China’s retail sales grew 1.7% from a year earlier, slowing from a holiday-boosted 2.8% increase in February and undershooting economists’ forecast for a 2.3% growth.
Industrial output expanded 5.7% last month from a year ago, stronger than analysts’ expectations for a 5.5% rise, and compared with 6.3% expansion in February.
The urban survey-based unemployment rate in March was 5.4%, picking up from 5.3% in February.
As the world’s largest oil importer and a heavily export-reliant economy, China is vulnerable to an oil shock that’s already slowing trade, pushing up factory costs and darkening the outlook for the rest of the year.
In the first quarter, China’s exports grew 14.7% from a year earlier in terms of U.S. dollars, the fastest pace since the first quarter in 2022, according to Economist Intelligence Unit.
But in March, the country’s exports growth slowed to 2.5% in March, down sharply from 21.8% in the January-to-February period as the Iran war pushed up energy and logistics costs, weighing on global demand.
China’s factory‑gate prices rose in March for the first time in more than three years, signaling that a spike in energy costs has started seeping into the manufacturing sector and threatening already-thin corporate margins.
Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.China economic growth accelerates to 5% in first quarter, beating expectations, on robust exports NYT News Today.
Hence then, the article about china economic growth accelerates to 5 in first quarter beating expectations on robust exports was published today ( ) and is available on NY Times News ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( China economic growth accelerates to 5% in first quarter, beating expectations, on robust exports )
Also on site :
- This Fan-Favorite Cookie Brand Is Expanding Its Gluten-Free Line
- Walmart’s 'Supportive' Water Shoes Are on Sale for $22, and Shoppers Say They’re the 'Most Comfortable' Shoes
- Costco Shoppers Are Revealing Their Best Membership Secrets And We’re Taking Notes