BEIJING, (Pakistan Point News - 27th Jun, 2023) China’s Premier Li Qiang said on Tuesday that economic growth accelerated in the latest quarter and expressed confidence it can hit the ruling Communist Party’s official target of 5 percent for the year, the Associated Press reported.
In a statement carried by the Associated Press, the Chinese Premier gave no figure for the three months ending in June but said it was faster than the previous quarter’s 4.5 percent, speaking at a conference in the eastern city of Tianjin.
The world’s second-largest economy rebounded from 2022’s unusually weak 3 percent growth following the end of anti-virus controls on travel and business activity. But that faded faster than expected. Consumer and factory activity weakened in May and youth unemployment spiked.
“It is expected that the second quarter will be faster than the first quarter,” Li said at the World Economic Forum. “We expect to achieve the economic growth rate of about 5 percent determined at the start of the year.”
Private sector forecasters expect China’s economic output to grow by at least 5 percent this year, but some have cut their outlooks following May’s weak activity.
