China GDP: ‘new uncertainties’ ahead for economy, Premier Li Keqiang warns, even with double-digit growth expected

China is set to release its first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figure on Friday, with a double-digit growth figure expected after the economy record shrank by a record 6.8 per cent in the first three months of 2020

But Premier Li Keqiang told a forum of economists and entrepreneurs on Friday that ‘the current complex and severe international environment has added new uncertainties’ to China’s economic recovery

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Premier Li Keqiang spoke at a forum of economists and entrepreneurs on Friday, according to comments released by the government on Sunday. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 6:30pm, 12 Apr 2021Updated: 6:30pm, 12 Apr 2021

China’s unbalanced economic recovery faces “new uncertainties”, warned Premier Li Keqiang, even with its growth in the first quarter predicted to hit an eye-catching 19 per cent.

Beijing is keen to maintain a cautious view towards the prospect for the world’s second largest economy, highlighted by setting a modest economic growth target of “above 6 per cent” for 2021, and is looking to keep necessary fiscal and monetary support in place.

China is set to release its first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figure on Friday, with a double-digit growth figure expected after the economy shrank by a record 6.8 per cent in the first three months of 2020 due to the coronavirus.

“The low base in the same period of last year has brought incomparable factors, the current complex and severe international environment have added new uncertainties, the domestic economic recovery is not balanced,” Li told a forum of economists and entrepreneurs on Friday, according to comments released by the government on Sunday.

We expect that the annual real GDP growth rate is likely to be around 9 per cent, higher than the target of over 6 per cent in the government work report

Peng Wensheng

Peng Wensheng, chief economist at investment bank China International Capital Corporation (CICC), told the same event that real GDP is set to soar by 19 per cent in the first three months of 2021 compared to the same period last year.

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