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Explainer | China economy 2021: latest economic data about world’s second-largest economy
- China is the world’s second-largest economy behind the United States
- Gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, consumer price index, purchasing managers’ indices, trade and industrial production are all key indicators
Reading Time:5 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
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China’s economic data paints a comprehensive picture of the state of the world’s second-largest economy.
This includes figures pertaining to gross domestic product (GDP), the consumer price index (CPI), the producer price index (PPI), industrial production and profits, purchasing managers’ indices (PMI), retail sales, foreign exchanges reserves, imports and exports, as well as the trade balance.
However, the accuracy of official Chinese economic data has been called into question, given the lack of transparency in how it is generated.
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate: 18.3 per cent (Q1 2021)
China’s economy grew by 18.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2021.
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) is the value of all goods and services produced within the country during a specific period of time.
China’s quarterly growth rate averaged 9.4 per cent from 1989 to 2019, reaching an all-time high of 15.4 per cent in the first quarter of 1993. But under pressure from the trade war and long-standing structural issues, China’s growth rate slowed to 6.1 per cent in 2019, which was the slowest since 1990.
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China’s economy accelerated at end of 2020, but virus-hit annual growth lowest in 45 years
China’s economy accelerated at end of 2020, but virus-hit annual growth lowest in 45 years
In the first quarter of 2020, China’s economy shrank by 6.8 per cent after the coronavirus shut down large swathes of the country. It recovered and ended the coronavirus-ravaged year with a strong growth surge and a GDP growth rate of 2.3 per cent in 2020.
China’s government has set an economic growth target of “above 6 per cent” for 2021.
China’s consumer price index (CPI): 1.3 per cent (May 2021)
China’s consumer price index (CPI) rose to 1.3 per cent in May 2021 from a year earlier, from 0.9 per cent in April.
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