China’s economic growth held steady in the latest quarter, despite a tariff war with Washington, as Beijing’s efforts to reverse a slowdown started to gain traction.
The world’s second-largest economy expanded by 6.4 per cent over a year before in the three months ending in March, the government reported Wednesday. That matched the previous quarter for the weakest growth since 2009.
“This confirms that China’s economic growth is bottoming out and this momentum is likely to continue,” said Tai Hui of JP Morgan Asset Management in a report.
A revival in Chinese growth and demand for imports could help to shore up weakening global economic activity. China is the biggest export customer for its Asian neighbours and a top market for autos, mobile phones and other consumer goods, food and industrial technology.
Communist leaders stepped up government spending last year and told banks to lend more after economic activity weakened, raising the risk of politically dangerous job losses.
Beijing’s decision to reverse course temporarily on a campaign to rein in rising debt “is starting to yield results,” Hui said.
Consumer spending, factory activity and investment all accelerated in March from the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.
The economy showed “growing positive factors,” a bureau statement said.
Forecasters expect Chinese growth to recover this year. They had predicted a revival last year but pushed back that time line after President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese imports over complaints about Beijing’s technology ambitions.
The fight between the two biggest global economies has disrupted trade in goods from soybeans to medical equipment, battering exporters on both sides and rattling financial markets. The two governments say settlement talks are making progress, but penalties on billions of dollars of each other’s goods are still in place.
At a news conference to release an annual report on the state of United States-China trade relations, the chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, Timothy Stratford, said trust between the sides had “reached a low point”.
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