Hitting annual target, Chinese economy grows 5%

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - China's economy grew 5% last year, hitting its annual growth target, according to data released on Friday.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics said the gross domestic product (GDP) rose 5% in January-December 2024 compared to the previous year.

The growth rate met the Chinese government's projected target of "around 5%" for 2024.

China's economy had previously seen growth rates of 2.2% in 2020, 8.4% in 2021, 3% in 2022, and 5.2% in 2023.

Despite challenges such as weak domestic demand, deflationary pressures on prices, local government debt issues, and a prolonged slump in the real estate sector, the world's second-largest economy managed to meet its growth target, albeit with difficulty.

- Growth in last quarter 5.4%

The bureau reported a GDP increase of 5.4% in the final quarter of 2024. On a yearly basis, the Chinese economy grew 5.3% in the first quarter, 4.7% in the second quarter, and 4.6% in the third quarter.

According to the data, industrial production grew 5.8% in 2024, while retail sales, a key measure of consumption and domestic demand, climbed 3.5%.

Fixed-asset investments, including spending on infrastructure, real estate, machinery, and equipment, rose 3.2% from the previous year.

Unemployment stood at 5.1% by the end of 2024, down 0.1 percentage point from the end of 2023.

Disposable per capita income rose 5.3% in 2024 compared to the previous year, the report added.