CHINA’S gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.2% year on year in the first three quarters of 2023, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed yesterday.

China’s GDP reached more than 91.3 trillion yuan (US$12.7 trillion) in the first three quarters, the NBS data showed.

In the third quarter of the year, the country’s GDP expanded 4.9% year on year, according to the NBS, as people ramped up spending on everything from restaurants and alcohol to cars, putting the government’s annual growth goal well within reach.

Gross domestic product for the third quarter far exceeded economists’ expectations, both year on year and quarter on quarter, as government stimulus efforts appeared to take root.

The figures got a boost from bumper retail sales growth last month, which recorded the biggest jump since May. The jobless rate was the lowest in nearly two years.

“For the short term, at least one thing is clear: China’s growth has largely bottomed out,” said Zhou Hao, chief economist at Guotai Junan International in Hong Kong.

“While the risk of slower growth for next year remains on the table, the short-term economic momentum has at least cleared some of the clouds over the economy.”

The nation is “very confident” that it can reach an annual growth goal of about 5% for 2023, National Bureau of Statistics deputy head Sheng Laiyun said at a briefing discussing the data yesterday.

GDP will need to grow 4.4% in the final three months of the year to hit that target.

But NBS officials expressed concern about demand. While they said the latest figures “laid a solid foundation” for achieving growth goals, they concluded that domestic demand remained insufficient.

“It is encouraging to start seeing some improvement in data, but probably too early to conclude that the economy is already back on a strong footing,” said Ouyang Miao, greater China economist at BofA Global Research.

Authorities are considering issuing more sovereign bonds this year to spend on infrastructure, Bloomberg reported last week, as well as mulling ways to shore up stock market confidence.

Economists also expect China to further cut interest rates and banks’ reserve requirement ratio this year.

“The investment aspect remains weak, but consumption seems to have recovered nicely,” said Raymond Yeung, chief economist for greater China at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.

“We believe the policymakers will focus more on financial stability. Stimulus measures will be ‘measured.’”

(SD-Agencies)