China’s President Xi Jinping raises a toast to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
NOEL CELIS | AFP | Getty Images
China said Friday its economy grew by 6.1% in 2019, meeting expectations even amid a trade dispute with the U.S.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected China’s economy to have grown 6.1% in 2019, compared with 6.6% in 2018.
Although Beijing’s official GDP figures are tracked as an indicator of the health of the world’s second-largest economy, many outside experts have long expressed skepticism about the veracity of China’s reports.
Beijing’s official growth target for 2019 was 6% to 6.5%, but Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said on Wednesday that GDP growth in 2019 was estimated to have grown more than 6%, Reuters reported.
China’s GDP grew 6.0% on-year in the fourth quarter of 2019. Analyst polled by Reuters forecast China’s economy to have grown 6.0% in the October to December period of 2019.
In the third quarter of 2019, GDP growth in the world’s second largest economy was 6% — the slowest pace since the first quarter of 1992, according to Reuters records.
Fridays’ data came after President Donald Trump signed a partial trade deal with China on Wednesday after a prolonged trade fight between the U.S. and China for almost two years.
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