China reports 5% GDP growth for 2024, meeting its official target
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- China's economy grew 5% in 2024, meeting its growth target.
- Analysts expected China's GDP growth to be 4.9%, close to the 5% target.
- China faces challenges like property crisis, youth unemployment, and deflation.
China reported its economy grew 5% in 2024, meeting its target of around 5%.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected China's full-year GDP growth to come in at 4.9%, just shy of the official target of around 5% — which analysts had said was ambitious.
China's economy grew 5.4% in the fourth quarter from a year ago — better than the 5% analysts had expected.
China's National Bureau of Statistics said in its economic growth announcement that the economy is "generally stable with steady progress."
China's economy has been struggling to stage a convincing post-pandemic recovery. It's dogged by numerous challenges, including a property crisis, high youth unemployment, and deflation.
The Chinese government made efforts to stimulate its economy throughout 2024, with measures getting more aggressive in September.
The growth China recorded in its fourth quarter is likely due to early signs of stronger domestic demand, Vishnu Varathan, Nomura's head of macro research for Asia excluding Japan, wrote in a note on Friday ahead of China's GDP data release.
"But the irony is that even as growth hopes may be inspired, its deflation concerns may be far harder to put to bed," Varathan wrote. "This underscores the dissonance between private sector confidence deficit and state-driven ramp up in industrial momentum amid heightened geoeconomic uncertainties."
Consumer confidence in China remains weak even though strong exports supported growth. Last year, China's trade surplus reached a record 7.06 trillion Chinese yuan, or $990 billion.
China's strong exports could come under threat after US President-elect Donald Trump takes office next week. The American leader has threatened 60% on all Chinese imports.