China's economy in 2023 expanded a real 5.2 percent from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday, with the figure meeting the country's annual target of around 5.0 percent due partly to the previous year's low base caused by the stringent "zero-COVID" policy.
But the world's second-largest economy continued to be affected by a property-sector crisis, with investment in real estate development dropping 9.6 percent, following a 10.0 percent fall in 2022.
Amid challenges that also include subdued external demand and mounting local government debts, China's economic growth in 2024 is projected to slow to 4.6 percent, the International Monetary Fund said in November.
The 2023 growth accelerated from 3.0 percent in the previous year, with the October-December period registering an expansion of 5.2 percent on year despite the property-sector problems that saw major developers China Evergrande Group and Country Garden Holdings Co. saddled with heavy debts.
The real estate market accounts for some 30 percent of China's gross domestic product.
Compared with the previous three months, the GDP increased 1.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, slowing from a revised 1.5 percent expansion in the July-September period.
The National Bureau of Statistics said the economy "witnessed recovery momentum" in 2023, with the country withstanding external pressure and internal difficulties.
"However, we must be aware that the external environment is increasingly complex, severe and uncertain, and economic growth is still facing difficulties and challenges," the bureau warned.
Premier Li Qiang told a World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday the Chinese economy will continue to provide a strong impetus to the world economy, having rebounded to register estimated growth of around 5.2 percent in 2023.
In 2022, the GDP expanded 3.0 percent, marking one of its slowest growth rates in several decades and missing its initial goal of around 5.5 percent under the zero-COVID policy involving lockdowns that restricted people's movements and disrupted supply chains.
The premier stressed that China's contribution to world economic growth has stayed at around 30 percent over the years, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
In 2023, retail sales of consumer goods increased 7.2 percent, while investment in fixed assets, excluding rural households, rose 3.0 percent. Industrial production in China, dubbed the "world's factory," grew 4.6 percent and the total value of exports climbed 0.6 percent.
A survey by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China showed Monday about 40 percent of some 1,700 Japanese companies operating in China said they believe the Chinese economy will deteriorate in 2024.
In the survey conducted between November and December, about half of the Japanese firms polled said they intended to either slash investment in 2023 compared with the previous year or forgo it altogether, with "an uncertain outlook" for the Chinese economy cited among reasons.
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China's GDP growth slows to real 4.9% in 3rd qtr amid property woes
Japan's GDP falls 2.1% in July-Sept., 1st contraction in 3 quarters
