China’s GDP expands 5%

China's GDP expanded 5 percent to reach 61.68 trillion yuan ($8.49 trillion) in the first half of 2024, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday, indicating the world's second-largest economy has sustained the momentum of post-pandemic recovery, thanks to a continuous improvement in overseas demand, a pick-up in home consumption, and stepped-up government policy support, despite facing internal and external uncertainties.

According to Report, which cites Global Times, in the second quarter, the GDP grew by 4.7 percent year-on-year, slightly down from the 5.3-percent growth recorded in the first quarter.

Observers said that the reading signaled that China is on a firm track to hit the annual economic growth target of around 5 percent in 2024. They also expected the tone-setting third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee to inject new impetus into second-half economic development and decisively lead the country to overcome rising headwinds to march toward Chinese modernization.

The 5-percent GDP increase in the first six months shows that economic growth is "stable" and that the economic operation in the second quarter has been keeping pace, Chinese analysts said.

"Though the GDP growth in the second quarter is lower than the first quarter, it's still a relatively fast growth among major economies, which builds a sound foundation for the achievement of the annual GDP target," Chen Fengying, an economist and former director of the Institute of World Economic Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.

Factory activity remains a main engine for the economy, partly fueled by resilient demand overseas. The value added of industrial enterprises above a designated size jumped 6 percent year-on-year in the first six months, with the development of new quality productive forces showing more palpable drives.

Meanwhile, retail sales of consumer goods in the first six months were up 3.7 percent, and fixed-asset investment edged up by 3.9 percent, NBS data showed.