BEIJING, July 15. China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5% year-on-year in the first half of 2024, according to data released Monday by the Chinese State Bureau of Statistics.
“According to preliminary data, China’s GDP for the first half of 2024 amounted to 61.683 trillion yuan ($8.5 trillion), an increase of 5% compared to the same period last year,” the department’s report says.
It is noted that in the first quarter of 2024, the annual figure increased by 5.3%, and in the second quarter the growth rate slowed down slightly and amounted to 4.7%.
The Bureau of Statistics report clarifies that during the reporting period, the primary sector of the economy (agriculture) grew by 3.5% compared to the same period in 2023, amounting to 3.066 trillion yuan ($422.8 billion). The secondary sector of the economy (industry and construction) grew by 5.8% to 23.653 trillion yuan ($3.26 trillion). The tertiary sector (service industry) grew by 4.6% to RMB 34.964 trillion ($4.8 trillion).
Chinese authorities expect the country's GDP growth rate to be about 5% in 2024. The government report, released on March 5 at the opening of the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), states that such a target is due to «the need to stimulate employment, increase household incomes, prevent and eliminate risks, and the need for this indicator to meet the goals set in the 14th th five-year program, and the tasks of modernization in general, as well as the presence of economic growth potential and appropriate support conditions.»
The IMF, against the backdrop of problems in the Chinese real estate market and declining external demand, expects Chinese economic growth in 2024 at level 4 .6%, the European Commission forecasts the country's economic growth to be 4.7%, while, according to the forecast of the international rating agency Fitch Ratings, China's GDP growth in 2024 will slow down slightly and amount to 4.8%.
China's GDP according to the results of the past year grew by 5.2% compared to 2022, which was higher than the official forecast of about 5%. The GDP amounted to 126.058 trillion yuan ($17.698 trillion).