China GDP grows record 18.3% in Q1 as exports drive industry

Continued momentum hinges on global recovery from coronavirus

An aerial view of a container port on the Yangtze River in Nantong in eastern China's Jiangsu province on April 8, 2021. (Chinatopix via AP) © AP

CK TAN, Nikkei staff writer

April 16, 2021 11:06 JST

Updated on April 16, 2021 14:13 JST

HEFEI, China -- Soaring exports helped China's gross domestic product grow a record 18.3% in the first quarter of 2021, rebounding from the 6.8% contraction in the same period last year at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, government data show.

The figure released Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics topped the median 17.9% estimate by 32 economists in a Nikkei poll. China's GDP growth for January-March followed a 6.5% gain in the final quarter of 2020.