China's Q1 GDP grows at record pace as recovery speeds up after pandemic

Economy has recovered steadily from a steep 6.8% slump in the first three months of 2020

China's economic recovery quickened sharply in the first quarter from a coronavirus-induced slump earlier last year, propelled by stronger demand at home and abroad and continued government support for smaller firms.

Gross domestic product (GDP) jumped a record 18.3% in the first quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday, slower than the 19% forecast by economists in a Reuters poll, and following 6.5% growth in the fourth quarter last year.

While the reading is heavily skewed by the plunge in activity a year earlier, the increase is the strongest since at least 1992, when official quarterly records started.

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