Q1 economic figures largely beat expectations

China's economy recorded first-quarter growth that surpassed expectations despite a complex international environment and resurgences of COVID-19 at home.

The country's gross domestic product grew 4.8 percent year-on-year to 27.02 trillion yuan ($4.24 trillion) in the first three months, picking up pace from a 4-percent increase registered in the previous quarter, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.

As CNBC reported, the growth of first-quarter GDP beat expectations of a 4.4 percent increase. Fixed-asset investment for the first quarter rose 9.3 percent on a yearly basis, topping expectations of 8.5 percent growth. Industrial production in March rose by 5 percent, beating a forecast for 4.5 percent growth.

For March activities, some of the data showed a loss of momentum, including retail sales and the surveyed urban unemployment rate. CNBC quoted Monica Li, director of equities at Fidelity International, as saying "Although (the) Chinese economy will come under near-term pressure because of pandemic controls, we remain confident in China economy's long-term resilience and vitality."

Among signs of support for longer-term growth, Li noted how "the strong issuance of special local government bond since second half last year has set the stage for accelerating infrastructure investment in future."

China's central bank on Friday announced a cut in the amount of cash banks must hold as reserves, which is expected to free up 530 billion yuan ($82.95 billion) in long-term liquidity as part of the country's efforts to support development of the real economy and reduce comprehensive financing costs.

On Monday, the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly released 23 measures to help businesses affected by the latest surge in COVID-19 cases to improve domestic economic circulation and facilitate exports.

Starting from 2022, the 400 billion yuan inclusive relending fund will continue to be used on a rolling basis with a focus on micro and small enterprises, and the quota can be expanded if necessary, the newly released measures said.

Sheng Songcheng, former head of the PBOC's statistics department, said to South China Morning Post the current outbreak will have a bigger impact on the economy than two years ago, adding China has accumulated enough experience to deal with it.

"We should contain the pandemic as quickly as possible and take effective measures to accomplish the full-year growth target," he said.