China's Q1 GDP grows 5.0% y/y, tops market forecast

April 15, 2026 10:02 PM EDT

Logistics workers operate along a street in a clothing wholesale district in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China, April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Go Nakamura

BEIJING, April ‌16 (Reuters) - China's ​economy ​grew 5.0% in the first quarter from a year ‌earlier, official data showed on Thursday, ⁠beating analysts' expectations as policymakers brace for ‌the fallout from the ‌Iran war.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the January-March quarter gross ​domestic product (GDP) would expand 4.8% from a year earlier, compared with ⁠a 3-year low of 4.5% in the fourth quarter.

On ​a quarterly basis, GDP grew 1.3% in the first quarter, ​matching forecasts and just ‌ahead of the 1.2% gain in the previous quarter.

Risks ⁠to the world's second-largest economy have surged since the Middle East war erupted ⁠on February 28. The conflict has laid ​bare a critical vulnerability: as the world's biggest energy importer and a heavily export-driven economy, ‌China is acutely exposed to an oil shock that ‌is already slowing trade, driving up ⁠factory costs ‌and clouding the ​outlook for the year.

(Reporting by Kevin Yao Editing by Shri ‌Navaratnam)



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