China "Economic growth rate of 5.0% last year..."Achieve Your Goals"

China reported a 5.0% gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate last year, meeting its annual growth target.

China's National Bureau of Statistics held a press conference yesterday (17th) and announced that its annual GDP last year was 134.984 trillion yuan and about 6,797 trillion won, a 5.0% growth rate based on constant prices.

The figures are above Reuters' median forecast of 4.9% of 64 global economists and in line with the "around 5%" growth target set by Chinese authorities.

On a quarterly basis, there were concerns that it might be difficult to meet the target as recently as the third quarter, with 5.3% in the first quarter, 4.7% in the second quarter and 4.6% in the third quarter, but growth jumped to 5.4% amid a series of stimulus announcements by authorities.

"We have steadily pushed for high-quality development in 2024 in a complex situation where external pressure has increased and internal difficulties have increased," the National Bureau of Statistics stressed.

"We effectively boosted social confidence by releasing an increase policy package in a timely manner," he said, adding, "The economy has clearly recovered, and the main target mission for economic development has been smoothly completed."