China's economic data in 2024's first two months beat analyst expectations

China's industrial output, an important economic indicator measuring the total added value of major industrial enterprises, went up 7 percent during the January-February period of 2024, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

This data, along with several other main economic indicators for the period, surpassed analyst expectations as polled by Reuters. 

The latest performance indicated the national economy sustained its recovery and growth momentum to get off to a stable start for 2024, according to the NBS.

Bruce Pang, chief economist of JLL Greater China, told CGTN that the good performance of major indicators of the economy indicates that the stabilization and recovery of China's economy in the first two months was not just a rebound in growth.

He said these also indicate continuous improvement, comprehensive enhancement and a positive shift towards supply-demand balance.

In the same two-month period, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 8.13 trillion yuan ($1.16 trillion), up by 5.5 percent year on year.

Fixed-asset investment, excluding rural households, reached 5.08 trillion yuan, up by 4.2 percent year on year, 1.2 percentage points higher than in December 2023.

The total value of imports and exports of goods was 6.61 trillion yuan, up by 8.7 percent year on year.

Overall, the national economy continued to recover and improve in January and February as various macroeconomic policies took effect, said Liu Aihua, spokesperson of the NBS, in a media conference.

However, Liu noted that it is also important to recognize that the complexity, severity and uncertainty of the external environment have increased, the issue of insufficient domestic demand remains, and therefore, the foundation for the sustained recovery and improvement of the economy still needs to be consolidated.