China’s population continues to drop while its GDP grows slowly in 2023

The GDP reached a government objective in 2023, according to official data, but the rebound appears unequal.

China’s economy expanded by 5.2% in 2023, meeting the government’s stated goal. However, given the country’s protracted real estate crisis, low corporate and consumer confidence, and slow global development, there are still worries about the country’s growth pace.

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According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the GDP of the second-biggest economy in the world increased by 5.2% in the last three months of 2023 over the same period the previous year.

The chairman of the agency, Kang Yi, said that the expansion had been “hard won” and issued a warning that insufficient demand and a complicated external environment would await the economy in 2024.

Due to its zero-COVID policy and extended COVID-19 laws, China’s GDP only expanded by 3% in 2022.

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Beijing gave itself a growth goal of “roughly five percent” for the previous year after removing the restrictions at the close of 2022.

Following a brief post-pandemic recovery, the economy has been burdened by record levels of youth unemployment, a worldwide downturn, and the ongoing real estate market crisis, which the government has been attempting to control with huge debt and speculation.

Exports, which have always been a major driver of growth, decreased last year for the first time since 2016, according to data released by the customs office on Friday.

Growth has also been hampered by geopolitical tensions with the US and initiatives by certain Western countries to diversify their supply chains or lessen their reliance on China.

In March, Chinese officials are expected to announce their 2024 growth objective.