China’s GDP grows 5.4% in 1st quarter amid tariff war
China’s economy in the January-March period grew a real 5.4 percent from a year earlier, official data showed Wednesday, with the pace of expansion unchanged from the previous quarter amid a tariff war with the United States.
The increase in inflation-adjusted gross domestic product of the world’s second-largest economy beat market expectations despite the trade tensions with Washington.
Beijing has set an ambitious growth target of around 5 percent for 2025 and implemented a series of stimulus measures.
On a quarter-to-quarter basis, China’s GDP in the first three months of 2025 rose 1.2 percent from the previous quarter, compared with 1.6 percent growth in the October-December period.
The National Bureau of Statistics said China’s economy in the first quarter “got off to a good and steady start and maintained the recovery momentum” with the sustained effects of the macro policies and innovation playing an increasingly leading role.
“However, we should be aware that the external environment is becoming more complex and severe, the drive for the growth of effective domestic demand is insufficient, and the foundation for sustained economic recovery and growth is yet to be consolidated,” the bureau added.
The world’s two largest economies have been engaged in a tit-for-tat tariff war since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January for a nonconsecutive second term, with the mutual imposition of steep tariffs.
The additional duties on all Chinese items have been raised to 145 percent in total by the United States, while Beijing has hiked retaliatory tariffs on all U.S. goods to 125 percent.
In the January-March period, retail sales of consumer goods increased 4.6 percent on year, while investment in fixed assets, excluding rural households, rose 4.2 percent.
But investment in real estate development dropped 9.9 percent amid a prolonged property sector crisis.Industrial production in China, dubbed the “world’s factory,” expanded 6.5 percent. The total value of exports climbed 6.9 percent.
Last week, the Asian Development Bank forecast China’s economic growth to slow to 4.7 percent this year from 5.0 percent in 2024 due to higher U.S. tariffs, low consumer confidence and continued weakness in its property sector.
