China economy accelerates in Q1 but virus stalks outlook

Business
China’s economic growth accelerated in the first quarter of the year to 4.8 percent, official data showed Monday, but the government warned of "significant challenges" ahead while massive Covid-19 lockdowns started to bite.

The world’s second-biggest economy had lost steam in the latter half of last year with a property slump and regulatory crackdowns, pulling down growth.

Read more: Rupee depreciates by 0.54pc

But it exceeded expectations in the first three months of 2022, growing 4.8 percent on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, with Lunar New Year spending and factory production cajoling growth.

The weeks ahead, however, appear treacherous for the economy with Beijing’s unrelenting zero-Covid approach to outbreaks clogging supply chains and locking down tens of millions of people -- including in the economic dynamos of Shanghai and Shenzhen as well as the northeastern grain basket of Jilin.

Virus restrictions in March have already gouged at retail sales, as consumers shied away from shopping, and drove up unemployment.

"With the domestic and international environment becoming increasingly complicated and uncertain, economic development is facing significant difficulties and challenges," NBS spokesman Fu Linghui said on Monday.

The pandemic rebound -- as well as the sanctions binding Russia’s economy -- ups the ante on officials to deliver Beijing’s full-year growth target of around 5.5 percent.

The target comes in a pivotal political year for President Xi Jinping who is eyeing another term in power at the Party Congress to be held this autumn.

Read more: SECP registers 2,354 new firms

The current virus outbreak is the worst since the peak of the first wave which emerged in Wuhan in late 2019, and the economy is beginning to weaken.

Industrial production growth eased to 5.0 percent in March, NBS data showed, down from the January-February period.

Meanwhile, retail sales sank 3.5 percent and the urban unemployment rate ticked up to a 22-month high of 5.8 percent last month.

"March activity data suggests that China’s economy slowed, especially in household consumption," Tommy Wu, lead China economist at Oxford Economics, said in a note.



from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/lDNd2w5

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Six more die in rain-related incidents in Karachi

Image
At least six people lost their lives in rain-related incidents on Friday as heavy rainfall wreaked havoc in Karachi, bringing up the toll in three days to 14. Following a rain forecast, different areas of the port city continued to receive moderate to heavy showers under the influence of a monsoon system that is present over Karachi. The most rain was recorded in the Gulshan-e-Hadeed neighbourhood, which received 94.7mm of rain during two spells. The Shah Latif police said Ruqayya Mubeen Shah, 38, was working at home in Bhains Colony when she got an electric shock and died, adding that her body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. Similarly, Sawera Ghulam Mustafa was at home in Baldia Town’s Mawach Goth when she got electrocuted, according to the local police, who said her body was taken to the Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK). In Manghopir, Raqeebullah Sardar Khan, 23, got an electric shock from a wire at home, said the police, adding that his body w...
Read more

Joint Opposition to move no-confidence motion against NA Speaker Asad Qaiser

Image
The Opposition has decided to jointly move a no-confidence motion against National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, sources said Wednesday, after two days of ruckus in the Lower House. The development came during a meeting of Opposition party leaders in Islamabad, where they decided to form a committee that would draft a plan of action to move the no-confidence motion. Yesterday's proceedings in the NA marked the "darkest day for democracy in Pakistan's history," the Opposition leaders observed, according to the sources. "The Speaker has failed to fulfil his constitutional, legal, democratic, and parliamentary responsibilities [...] he is the protector of every parliament member, but [he has failed in his duties] and is not qualified to hold office anymore," they said. The leaders demanded that a parliamentary committee be established with equal representation — from treasury and Opposition benches — to probe the ruckus that had transpired in parliament. ...
Read more

Low payments by fed govt hampered development in Sindh, CM Murad tells Bilawal Bhutto

Image
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had a meeting on Monday at the Bilawal House in Karachi. According to the Bilawal House spokesperson, the chief minister informed Bilawal Bhutto of the COVID-19 situation in the province along with measures taken by the Sindh Health Department to contain the virus. Speaking about the pace of development in the province, CM Murad Ali Shah told Bilawal Bhutto that progress has been largely hampered because of low payments made by the Federal government against Sindh's rightful share. Shedding light on areas where improvements were witnessed, the CM said that the Sindh government has surpassed its own tax collection targets this time. During the meeting, PPP Chairman said that he had instructed the Sindh government to start a recruitment drive for filling vacant positions, adding that all appointments must be made on the basis of merit so that the unemployed youth can benefit from the move. He also...
Read more

CPEC extend to Afghanistan says China

Image
Beijing welcomes Afghanistan’s active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure plan proposed by China, and is willing to push for extending the China-Pakistan Economic Corri­dor (CPEC) to Afghanistan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday as he made a surprise visit to Kabul. Wang met acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to discuss political and economic ties, including starting work in the mining sector and Afghanistan’s possible role in China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, according to a statement from an Afghan foreign ministry spokesman. Read more:  Ukraine pleads for help as Joe Biden heads to summit China was willing to promote the extension of CPEC to Afghanistan, making the latter a bridge for regional connectivity, Wang said on Thursday . He also said China hoped Afghanistan would fulfil its commitment of not allowing any external forces to use its territory as a tool to oppose neighbours, or harm the ...
Read more

What Do You Want to Know About Cancer?

Image
Cancer is an umbrella term for a large group of diseases caused when abnormal cells divide rapidly, and spread to other tissue and organs. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Cancer Growth and Metastasis In a healthy body, the trillions of cells it’s made of grow and divide, as the body needs them to function daily. Healthy cells have a specific life cycle, reproducing and dying off in a way that is determined by the type of cell. New cells take the place of old or damaged cells as they die. Cancer disrupts this process and leads to abnormal growth in cells. It’s caused by changes or mutations in DNA. DNA exists in the individual genes of every cell. It has instructions that tell the cell what functions to perform and how to grow and divide. Mutations occur frequently in DNA, but usually cells correct these mistakes. When a mistake is not corrected, a cell can become cancerous. Mutations can cause cells that should be replaced to survive instead of die, an...
Read more

President Alvi hopes Ali Sadpara, other K2 climbers are safe

Image
President Arif Alvi hoped that mountaineer Muhammad Ali Sadpara and other climbers who were part of an expedition to ascend the second highest peak of the globe, K2, without oxygen would be fine. “I hope that Ali Sadpara and other fellow climbers will be fine,” he said in a message posted from his personal Twitter account. مجھے امید ہے کہ علی سدپارہ اور ان کے ساتھی کوہ پیما خیریت سے ہوں۔ یہ بہت بہادر کوہ پیما ہیں۔ ہم ان کی سلامتی کے لئے دعا کرتے ہیں۔ آپ کے اس تھریڈمیں اچھی معلومات ہیں https://t.co/1dsXM3T6HH — Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) February 6, 2021 He lauded the courageousness of these mountaineers and said that all of them would pray for their safe return. A Twitter message from the official account of the Government of Pakistan also prayed for the safe return of Muhammad Ali Sadpara and other fellow mountaineers. Prayers for safe return of our hero Muhammad Ali Sadpara and his fellow mountaineers! — Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) February 6, 2021 Earlier in ...
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: Forde-Yard Dash: The SEC is Unrecognizable as Defenses Underwhelm

Image
The SEC is known for its historically dominant defenses but teams' performances thus far have been anything but. Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football (autographed pictures of bird-flipping Texas fans sold separately):  MORE DASH: Texas Flop |  Looking at New Coaches   | Signs of Effective Teams FIRST QUARTER: THE SEC IS UNRECOGNIZABLE Last week, The Dash touched upon the early-season transformation of the Southeastern Conference into a free-wheeling passing league . But things escalated significantly Saturday, to the point that a historically dominant defensive conference now looks like what it once disdained—2010s Era Big 12, but with bigger bodies. Simply put, it was the highest-scoring Saturday in the history of the conference. Updating last week’s stat, four of the top five passing offenses in the nation are in the SEC: No. 1 Mississippi State, No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Mississippi and No. 5 Florida. The SEC now has none of the t...
Read more

Former PM's close aide Shahzad Akbar's name placed on ECL

Image
The federal cabinet amended the Exit Control List (ECL) on Tuesday on the recommendation of the Interior Ministry, removing 22 names from the no-fly list and adding 10 people to it, while giving a one-time permission to three people to leave the country. Those added to the ECL included Shahzad Akbar, who served as adviser on interior and accountability to former prime minister Imran Khan, and Ziaul Mustafa Naseem. Both names were included in the ECL based on cases pertaining to a private housing scheme. The cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, received a briefing from the Climate Change Ministry on the effects of climate change in the country. The ministers were informed that Pakistan was among the top-eight worst affected countries because of the climate change. It was underlined in the briefing that there was a dire need for immediate implementation of ‘Mitigation and Adaptation” mechanism. It was suggested that a documentary about the issues confronting Pa...
Read more

Lahore Qalandars beat Peshawar Zalmi by 4 wickets in PSL 6

Image
Lahore Qalandars defeated Peshawar Zalmi by four wickets in their first match of this year's Pakistan Super League (PSL) tournament at the National Stadium in Karachi on Sunday. Helped by Mohammad Hafeez and Rashid Khan's splendid knocks, Qalandars successfully chased the 141-run target set by Zalmi with nine balls to spare. The Qalandars started off strong after Fakhar Zaman and Sohail Akhtar opened their innings, before Akhtar (14 off 14) was caught by Shoaib Malik off Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the fifth over. Zaman followed him in the next over, getting caught superbly by Malik off Wahab Riaz after making 15 from as many balls. Agha Salman (21 off 16) then hit three boundaries and a few singles before he was bowled out by Amad Butt. He was replaced by Ben Dunk, who contributed 22 runs before falling victim to a Wahab Riaz yorker. Earlier, after being sent in to bat, Zalmi finished with a score of 140 at the loss of six wickets. Imamul Haq and Kamran Akmal opened the innin...
Read more

Pakistan rejects illegal grant of IOK domicile certificates to Indians

Image
Pakistan has categorically rejected the grant of domicile certificates of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOK) by the Indian authorities to reportedly 25,000 Indian nationals. In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said that the certificates issued to non-Kashmiris including, among others, the Indian government officials under “Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure), 2020” are illegal, void and in complete violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, and International law including the 4th Geneva Convention. She said that the latest action is a vindication of Pakistan’s consistent stance that the major intention behind the Indian government’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 was to change the demographic structure of IOK and turn Kashmiris into a minority in their own land. The spokesperson said that this has long been part of the RSS-BJP’s “Hindutva” agenda. By changing the demographic structure ...
Read more