In January and February, the major macroeconomic indicators, including investment and industrial added value, all exceeded the market expectations, according to the National Bureau of Statistics announcement today.
Analysts said the better-than-expected figures signified a excellent start for the Chinese economy in 2018.
Data showed that in January and February, fixed asset investment grew by 7.9 percent year-on-year, setting a six-month high; consumption grew by 9.7 percent year-on-year, industrial value-added grew by 7.2 per cent, setting a record high in the past seven months.
Mao Shengyong, a spokesman of the National Bureau of Statistics, said the data revealed accelerating industrial production, a relatively active consumption, generally stable prices, and an improving employment market.
A major contributor to the growth of consumption is the accelerating automobile consumption. "Instead of sales volume, the average unit price of cars has risen a lot, which shows the changing and upgrading demand for cars." He said.
As for investment, the growth rate of manufacturing and infrastructure investment slowed down a bit in January and February, while the real estate investment increased by 9.9 percent and private investment increased by 8.1 percent.
In an interview with the China Securities Journal, Zhang Jun, chief economist of Morgan Stanley Huaxin Securities, said that the overall economy in the first quarter will probably continue the steady and positive trend of the fourth quarter of last year, with the GDP growth expected to remain around 6.7 percent.
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