China economy enjoys ‘good start’ to 2019 despite slumping car and mobile phone sales
- Mobile phone sales plunged 19.9 per cent in February, while total vehicle sales fell for an eighth straight month in the world’s biggest car market
- National Bureau of Statistics is expected to release industrial production, retail sales and fixed-asset investment data for January and February on Thursday
China’s economy “has achieved a good start” to 2019 despite a recent drop in sales of cars and mobile phones, according to the country’s statistics chief.
“According to data available as of now, the Chinese economy has achieved a good start,” said Ning Jizhe, the head of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday, citing stable industrial production and steady employment over the first two months of the year.
The NBS is expected to release China’s industrial production, retail sales and fixed-asset investment data for January and February on Thursday, which will present the official picture of the economy at the start of the year.
According to data available as of now, the Chinese economy has achieved a good start.
Mobile phone sales fell 19.9 per cent in February from a year earlier to 14.5 million units, accelerating from a fall 12.8 per cent in January, according to data released by the China Academy for Information and Communications Technology, an agency under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Total vehicle sales in China fell 13.8 per cent in February from a year earlier to 1.48 million units, the government-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Monday.