China's Economy Bounces Back: Industrial Output Soars in April 🚀
China's economy is showing signs of a strong recovery! 🎉 In April, industrial output from major enterprises surged by a whopping 6.7% compared to last year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). That's a big jump from the 4.5% growth seen in March. 📈
Bruce Pang, chief economist of JLL Greater China, thinks this is just the beginning. \\"The delivery of announced policy stimulus would be key, given that industrial output is still the major contributor to growth,\\" he told CGTN.
Retail Sales on the Rise 🛍️
Total retail sales of consumer goods hit 3.57 trillion yuan ($494 billion) in April, up 2.3% from a year ago. While that's slightly slower than March's 3.1% growth, there's a good reason. Pang noted that people might have been saving up for bigger spending sprees during May's Labor Day holiday week. 🏖️
\\"Consumers were still cautious about spending in April but are likely to open their wallets more in May,\\" Pang added. 😉
Looking Ahead: May Could Be Even Better 🌟
\\"We expect consumption to register stronger momentum in May given the improving employment rate, solid growth of service consumption, and additional policy boosts,\\" Pang said.
And there's more good news! In the first four months of the year, retail sales of services grew by a solid 8.4%. 📊
Job Market Looking Up 📈
The urban unemployment rate stood at 5.2% in April, down 0.2 percentage points from the same time last year. This suggests more people are finding jobs, which is great news for the economy. 🙌
Investment in High-Tech Manufacturing Soars 🚀
From January to April, fixed-asset investment rose by 4.2% year on year. Notably, investment in high-tech manufacturing—like aviation, spacecraft, and equipment manufacturing—skyrocketed by 49.6%! 🚁🛰️
Stable Prices 📉
The NBS also reported that consumer prices remained stable, with the consumer price index edging up 0.3%. Meanwhile, the producer price index fell by 2.5% in April, but the decline is narrowing.
Steady Growth Ahead 📈
Despite some challenges, Pang remains optimistic. \\"Various indicators are growing steadily month on month, indicating that the economy is still expanding with resilience,\\" he said.
It looks like China's economy is gearing up for a stronger performance in the coming months. Keep an eye out for more updates! 👀
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
