China’s economic growth falls to 7 percent, first quarter GDP data shows

Global Business

In this photo taken Monday April 13, 2015, workers labor at a shipyard on the Yangtze River in Yichang in central China’s Hubei province. China’s economic slump deepened as manufacturing and retail sales cooled in the first quarter of this year, stepping up pressure for Beijing to keep the world’s second-largest economy on track. (Chinatopix Via AP) CHINA OUT

China’s economy cooled further as manufacturing and retail sales slowed January-March 2015, raising pressure on Beijing to keep the world’s second-largest economy on track. Growth fell to 7 percent from the previous quarter’s 7.3 percent, the weakest performance since it tumbled to 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics released first quarter economic data on Wednesday that found growth in industrial output, fixed asset investment, and retail sales in March all slowed and were below economists’ expectations.

Source: AFP and China’s National Bureau of Statistics

All key headline numbers and components of GDP weakened in the first quarter, reflecting persistent downward pressure on the economy, UBS economist Wang Tao said. The ongoing property downturn and staggering exports outweighed a modest first quarter cushioning from solid infrastructure investment and resilient consumption, Wang added.

Wednesday’s data is the latest in a string of numbers that suggest further weakness in the economy.

Export data for March, released on Monday, tumbled from a year earlier, due to sluggish global demand. Import shipments also shrank sharply.

Source: AFP and China’s National Bureau of Statistics

Consumer inflation also remained tepid in March, while producer prices stayed in deflationary territory.

Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday that the government should make efficient use of policy tools to maintain growth, promote employment and raise efficiency.

This week, the World Bank trimmed its forecast for China’s growth this year from 7.2 percent to 7.1 percent.

In line with targets

Analysts said China’s highlights areas of concern but should not fuel market pessimism.

The slowdown prompted calls for further policy easing but the growth was in line with the target of “around 7 percent”.

Despite the slowdown, the economy is still one of the world’s fastest growing and enjoys sound fundamentals as the healthy pace of job creation and income growth continue, analysts said. The economy is gradually becoming better balanced, they added.

NBS spokesperson Sheng Laiyun said first quarter economic growth was within a “reasonable range” and the slowdown was within expectation.

A new normal of slower growth is a desirable outcome as China seeks to wean the economy off its reliance on exports and state-directed investment, and instead encourage private sector growth and consumer spending to ensure sustainable expansion in the long run.

Progress has also been made to shift to a more balanced and greener economy.

The service sector accounted for 51.6 percent of GDP in the first quarter, up from 48.2 percent in 2014 and 46.9 percent in 2013. Energy consumption per unit GDP continued to fall, recording a drop of 5.6 percent in the first quarter, after last year’s 4.8 percent decline.

Due to efforts to cut red tape, simplify administrative procedures, and cultivate new growth engines, newly registered companies mushroomed and high-tech industries blossomed.

The number of newly registered companies surged 38.4 percent in the first quarter,while new energy automobiles and robotics saw industrial output gain more than 50 percent during the same period.

More easing expected

Policymakers have repeatedly stated that the country has the firepower to avert a hard landing, and should the slowdown cause widespread unemployment or a drop in citizens’ incomes, it would not hesitate to intervene.

Analysts expect the central bank, which has cut interest rates twice since November and once lowered the amount of cash the banks must hold as reserves, to roll out more policy easing measures.

Additional action is needed to contain pressure and to ensure the economy continues to run within a “reasonable range”, Wang Tao said.

Potential measures may include the acceleration of infrastructure projects, cutting benchmark interest rates, increasing liquidity provisions, or speeding up pro-growth reforms, she said.

Bob Liu, an analyst at the China International Capital Corp., expects the central bank to cut the benchmark interest rate once, and the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) six times this year. Barclays economist Chang Jian forecast one interest rate cut in the second quarter and two RRR cuts.

Wang expects supportive polices to buttress real activity in the second and third quarters, helping GDP growth back up to 7.1 percent in the second quarter. However, she added, any revival will be hard to sustain if the property downturn, the biggest drag on growth, continues to intensify to the end of the year.

To avoid a sharper slowdown, policy makers have unveiled supportive measures, including relaxed home purchasing rules and more investment in major infrastructure projects.

Longer-term development plans include further reform and three major strategies — the Belt and Road initiative, coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and development of the Yangtze River economic belt. All of which are designed to unleash growth potential.

Sheng Laiyun expressed confidence that China will maintain stable and healthy growth, adding that the economy has the potential and condition to maintain a medium-high level of growth.

Ongoing industrialization, urbanization, agricultural modernization and digitalization will be the major source of growth momentum for the economy, Sheng said. When combined with macro-economic control measures, the official said, the economy is poised to maintain stable and heathy development.

Story compiled with information from Xinhua News and the Associated Press.


Perry Wong on the Chinese economy
For more on China’s economy, CCTV spoke to Perry Wong, Managing Director of Research at the Milken Institute.

Perry Wong on the Chinese economy

For more on China's economy, CCTV spoke to Perry Wong, Managing Director of Research at the Milken Institute.