International Business: China Q1 GDP tops forecast, but March weakness sharply raises outlook risks – Gulf Digital News

International Business: China Q1 GDP tops forecast, but March weakness sharply raises outlook risks – Gulf Digital News

BEIJING: China's economy slowed in March as consumption, real estate and exports were hit hard, taking the shine off faster-than-expected first-quarter growth numbers and worsening an outlook already weakened by Covid-19 curbs and the Ukraine war.

The biggest near-term challenge for Beijing is the tough new coronavirus rules at a time of heightened geopolitical risks, which have intensified supply and commodity cost pressures, boosting global inflation and forcing Chinese authorities to walk a tight rope as they try to stimulate growth without endangering price stability.

Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 4.8% in the first quarter from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday, beating analysts' expectations for a 4.4% gain and picking up from 4.0% in the fourth quarter.

A surprisingly strong start in the first two months of the year improved the headline figures, with GDP up 1.3% in January-March in quarter-on-quarter terms, compared with expectations for a 0.6% rise and a revised 1.5% gain in the previous quarter.

Analysts say April data will likely be worse, with lockdowns in commercial centre Shanghai and elsewhere dragging on, prompting some to warn of rising recession risks.

"Further impacts from lockdowns are imminent, not only because there has been