The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_X_on_2023.svgbt_X_over_2023.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_X_on_2023.svgbt_X_over_2023.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Seoul Metro begins real-time translation service for foreign tourists at Myeong-dong Station

  • 3

    JYP to host annual audition in January

  • 5

    Son-dol: a cold day for a ferryman and a merchant

  • 7

    Space race heats up between two Koreas after Seoul launches spy satellite

  • 9

    NK warns 'physical clash, war' on Korean Peninsula a matter of time, not possibility

  • 11

    No. of elementary school freshmen expected to drop below 400,000 next year

  • 13

    Uncertainty lingers over Ven. Jaseung's death

  • 15

    Spaniard accused of helping N. Korea evade US sanctions arrested

  • 17

    INTERVIEWMirinae Lee's '8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster' offers fresh perspective on Korean history

  • 19

    Tensions rise as opposition demands special probe into first lady

  • 2

    INTERVIEWEcolab helps Korean partners profit from ESG management

  • 4

    Ronaldo walks off to chants of 'Messi! Messi!' as his team loses 3-0 in Riyadh derby

  • 6

    Korean economy to start shrinking by 2050 if low birthrate unaddressed: BOK report

  • 8

    ANALYSISHas N. Korean leader's daughter been confirmed as heir apparent?

  • 10

    INTERVIEW'Lifeline for migrant workers in Korea' - Rev. Kim fights for foreign employees' rights

  • 12

    Korean battery firms face higher costs for access to US subsidies

  • 14

    Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra dazzles audience at Korea International Festival

  • 16

    INTERVIEWKorea to work with US, Japan to fight climate change

  • 18

    Israel widens evacuation orders as it shifts its offensive to southern Gaza amid heavy bombardments

  • 20

    N. Korea's spy satellite operation office begins mission: state media

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
Tue, December 5, 2023 | 05:48
Asia
China's economy grows still-weak 4.8% in January-March
Posted : 2022-04-18 16:09
Updated : 2022-04-18 04:58
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
                                                                                                 People wearing face masks to help protect them from COVID-19 walk by propaganda posters as they head to work in the central business district of Beijing during the morning rush hour, April 18. China's economic growth edged up to a still-weak 4.8 percent over a year earlier in the first three months of 2022 as spreading outbreaks of the coronavirus prompted shutdowns in major industrial cities. AP-Yonhap
People wearing face masks to help protect them from COVID-19 walk by propaganda posters as they head to work in the central business district of Beijing during the morning rush hour, April 18. China's economic growth edged up to a still-weak 4.8 percent over a year earlier in the first three months of 2022 as spreading outbreaks of the coronavirus prompted shutdowns in major industrial cities. AP-Yonhap

China's economic growth edged up to a still-weak 4.8 percent over a year earlier in the first three months of 2022 as industrial cities shut down to fight COVID-19 outbreaks, threatening to disrupt global trade and manufacturing.

Growth in the world's second-largest economy crept up from the previous quarter's 4 percent following a slump triggered by tighter controls on use of debt by China's vast real estate industry, government data showed Monday. Compared with the previous quarter, as other major economies are measured, growth slowed to 1.3 percent from 1.4 percent.

''More pain will come'' in the current quarter, Iris Pang of ING said in a report. ''Further impacts from lockdowns are imminent.''

The slowdown hurts China's trading partners by depressing demand for oil, steel, consumer goods, food and other imports. Oil prices, which spiked after Russia's attack on Ukraine, have fallen back somewhat on expectations that Chinese consumption will weaken.

The flow of industrial goods has been disrupted by the suspension of access to Shanghai, a business center with 25 million people, and other industrial cities. Global automakers and other manufacturers have reduced or stopped production.

The disruption ''will weigh on activity in April and into May, if not longer,'' Tommy Wu of Oxford Economics said in a report. That is ''likely to have a significant impact on global supply chains.''

First quarter economic growth was below the ruling Communist Party's annual target of 5.5 percent. Forecasters have said that will be hard to meet without large government stimulus spending.

Retail spending, factory output and investment in factories, real estate and other fixed assets rose.

''The national economic recovery was sustained and the operation of the economy was generally stable,'' said a government statement.

China's latest infection numbers are relatively low, but Beijing is responding to its biggest outbreak since the 2020 start of the pandemic with a ''zero-COVID'' policy that aims to isolate every person who tests positive.

The government was already promising tax refunds and other aid to businesses to pull the economy out of a slide that began in mid-2021. Last week, Premier Li Keqiang, the No. 2 leader, called for quicker action to get help to struggling entrepreneurs.

Forecasters say Beijing is moving cautiously and using targeted stimulus measures instead of across-the-board spending. Chinese leaders worry that might push up politically sensitive housing costs or corporate debt they worry is dangerously high.

                                                                                                 People wearing face masks to help protect them from COVID-19 walk by propaganda posters as they head to work in the central business district of Beijing during the morning rush hour, April 18. China's economic growth edged up to a still-weak 4.8 percent over a year earlier in the first three months of 2022 as spreading outbreaks of the coronavirus prompted shutdowns in major industrial cities. AP-Yonhap
People wearing face masks shop clothing during a promotional New Year sale at a mall in Beijing, Jan. 16. AP-Yonhap

Retail sales rose by a modest 3.3 percent over a year earlier in the first quarter after demand was dampened by a government appeal to the public to avoid traveling and large gatherings during February's Lunar New Year holiday, normally a period of big spending on gift-giving, banquets and tourism.

Factory output rose 6.5 percent and investment in factories, real estate and other fixed assets increased 9.3 percent, possibly reflecting official orders to banks to lend more readily.

Last week, regulators injected an extra 500 billion yuan ($80 billion) into the pool of money for lending by reducing the amount of deposits commercial banks are required to hold in reserve.

The agency that runs the Shanghai port says operations are normal. But companies say the volume of cargo it handles has fallen.

Other cities affected by suspensions of access include Tianjin, a port and petrochemical center east of Beijing; Shenzhen, a finance and tech center near Hong Kong; and the manufacturing centers of Changchun and Jilin in the northeast. Smaller cities have also suspended access, closed businesses, ordered residents to stay home or imposed other controls.

Economists have warned spring planting by Chinese farmers who feed 1.4 billion people also might be disrupted. That would hurt economic activity and boost demand for imported wheat and other food, potentially pushing up already high global prices.

China rebounded quickly from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but activity weakened last year as tighter controls on borrowing by real estate developers hit construction, which supports millions of jobs. That made consumers nervous about spending and investors anxious about possible defaults by developers.

Investors are waiting to see what happens to one of China's biggest developers, Evergrande Group, which has struggled since last year to avoid defaulting on $310 billion owed to banks and bondholders.

Smaller developers have collapsed or defaulted on debts after Beijing reduced the amount of borrowed money they can use.

Chinese officials have tried to reassure investors, saying the impact on lending markets and the economy can be contained. Economists say a potential Evergrande default should have little effect on global financial markets. (AP)

 
wooribank
LG group
Top 10 Stories
1Seoul Metro begins real-time translation service for foreign tourists at Myeong-dong Station Seoul Metro begins real-time translation service for foreign tourists at Myeong-dong Station
2[INTERVIEW] Mirinae Lee's '8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster' offers fresh perspective on Korean history INTERVIEWMirinae Lee's '8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster' offers fresh perspective on Korean history
3Go Dae-su: Queen Min's giant female bodyguardGo Dae-su: Queen Min's giant female bodyguard
4Korea on alert over another urea shortage crisisKorea on alert over another urea shortage crisis
5Debate grows over broadening of state insurance coverage for drug rehabilitation Debate grows over broadening of state insurance coverage for drug rehabilitation
6Park Sae-eun receives French order of merit Park Sae-eun receives French order of merit
7Samsung's sports marketing called into question after Bluewings' relegation Samsung's sports marketing called into question after Bluewings' relegation
8N. Korean hacker group Andariel steals S. Korean defense secrets N. Korean hacker group Andariel steals S. Korean defense secrets
9President names new finance, land ministers in Cabinet shake-upPresident names new finance, land ministers in Cabinet shake-up
10Camarata Music celebrates Christmas Camarata Music celebrates Christmas
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Popular talk show 'Strong Heart' returns with new format Popular talk show 'Strong Heart' returns with new format
2How Lee Ung-no pioneered East-West fusion through brushstrokesHow Lee Ung-no pioneered East-West fusion through brushstrokes
3[REVIEW] Preview gala sets stage for grand premiere of 'La Rose de Versailles' musical REVIEWPreview gala sets stage for grand premiere of 'La Rose de Versailles' musical
4JYP to host annual audition in JanuaryJYP to host annual audition in January
5Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra dazzles audience at Korea International FestivalTaipei Philharmonic Orchestra dazzles audience at Korea International Festival
DARKROOM
  • It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

    It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

  • 2023 Thanksgiving parade in NYC

    2023 Thanksgiving parade in NYC

  • Appreciation of autumn colors

    Appreciation of autumn colors

  • Our children deserve better

    Our children deserve better

  • Israel-Gaza conflict erupts into war

    Israel-Gaza conflict erupts into war

  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel: 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844
Date of registration: 2020.02.05
Masthead: The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group