China's 2022 GDP is far below the government's expectations
Second worst since 1976
Fourth quarter GDP was better than expected
China's economy is set for its second-worst growth in nearly 50 years in 2022 following a zero-activity Covid-19 policy.
China's gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 3% in 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported on Tuesday morning. This reading is far from the government's official projection for growth of around 5.5%.
The figure also represents a sharp drop from 8.4% in 2021 as the country begins to recover from the first wave of the epidemic.
The worst record in China's growth was in 2020 with an expansion of only 2.2%, the worst since 1976.
Even so, growth in the fourth quarter was unexpectedly better than expected, rising 2.9% year-on-year from the expected 1.6%, but down from the previous quarter's 3.9%.
On a quarterly basis, China's GDP did not record growth with a record of 0% in the fourth quarter compared to the expected decline of 0.8% and growth of 3.9% in July-September.
Meanwhile, retail sales data also showed a better reading with a 1.8% contraction in December compared to expectations for a 9.5% decline, and slightly up from the 5.9% fall recorded previously.
The unemployment rate also decreased at 5.5% and industrial production increased by 1.3% last month.
In December, Beijing suddenly lifted its strict zero-Covid restrictions, but the result was a drastic jump in infection cases.
The head of the NBS expressed his confidence that China's economy will grow better this year, boosted by stimulus from the government and the real estate sector that is trying to recover from its debt.
