China reports robust 2024 growth after wobbles prompt stimulus

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. SINGAPORE—China said its economy expanded by 5% last year, formally hitting its official growth target in a difficult year that saw officials respond to a sharp summertime deterioration in key indicators with its most aggressive stimulus in years. The country’s National Bureau of Statistics said gross domestic product was buoyed by solid growth in investment and exports, which offset weaker consumption, highlighting the unevenness of Chinese growth.

Still, some outside economists say the robust headline numbers contrast with a variety of other data points that paint a weaker picture of economic health, including anemic consumer inflation, tax revenue and online spending. The economy remains mired in a real-estate slump and has been struggling with deflation. And it faces a further risk this year with U.S.

President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to impose stiffer tariffs on Chinese imports, which would squeeze China’s booming exports and pinch growth overall. One possible explanation for the difference between Friday’s full-year GDP figures and earlier data can be found in a noticeable perking up of economic activity toward the end of the year after Chinese authorities swooped in with a barrage of monetary and fiscal stimulus measures in late September and October. Friday’s data showed fourth-quarter growth accelerated to 5.4% year-over-year.

Many economists remain skeptical about the durability of any such upturn. Economic data out of China has long been dogged by questions about its reliability. Others go further, arguing that the numbers simply don’t add up, suggesting an effort to artificially flatter the top-line figures to meet political goals.