China's Economic Growth Accelerates to 5% in Q1

A report from chinadaily.com.cn Apr. 16th, 2026：

Staff member processes copper rods at a workshop in Huaian, East China's Jiangsu province, on Jan 19, 2026. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's economic growth accelerated to 5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, posting a resilient expansion despite mounting uncertainties.

The growth marks an increase from the 4.5 percent registered in the fourth quarter of last year.

According to the NBS, the country's GDP reached 33.42 trillion yuan ($4.9 trillion) in the first quarter, while on a quarter-on-quarter basis, China's GDP grew by 1.3 percent. 

The bureau noted that the Chinese economy got off to a good start with growth recovery of key macroeconomic indicators and rapid development of new growth drivers.

The country's industrial output expanded by 6.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 5 percent in the previous quarter, official data showed. In March, the expansion slowed to 5.7 percent from 6.3 percent in the first two months of the year.

Retail sales increased by 1.7 percent year-on-year in March, compared with 2.8 percent in the first two months, the data showed.