China GDP grows 5% in Q1, beats expectations on exports, spending strength in World Economy News 16/04/2026 China’s economy grew more than expected in the first quarter of 2026, official gross domestic product data showed on Thursday, as robust export demand and growing resilience in local spending helped support growth. GDP grew 5% year-on-year, beating expectations of 4.8%. Growth also accelerated from the 4.5% in the prior quarter. GDP grew 1.3% quarter on quarter, slightly ducking expectations of 1.4% and but picking up from the 1.2% rise seen in Q4 2025. First quarter GDP is usually aided by the Lunar New Year holiday, with 2026’s reading showing that strong consumer spending during the break continued to underpin growth. A mild uptick in inflation, especially in producer prices, also helped stimulate growth, although overcapacity concerns in China’s factories remained. Exports were a major driver of growth, having risen sharply in January and February after several U.S. trade tariffs were waived by a late-2025 Supreme Court ruling. While demand outside the U.S. also remained strong, exports were seen losing momentum towards the end of Q1. China set a slightly weaker GDP target for 2026 than seen in recent years, of between 4.5% and 5%– also China’s softest GDP target since 1991. Still, Thursday’s reading showed GDP trending at the upper end of Beijing’s range and at a pace seen over the past five years. Beijing vowed to continue providing fiscal support through increased spending on major infrastructure and public services, while also vowing to support private spending and household savings. Still, separate data showed the Chinese economy losing some steam towards the end of Q1. Chinese industrial production grew 5.7% y-o-y in March, beating expectations of 5.4% but slowing slightly from the 6.3% rise seen in the prior month. Fixed asset investment– a key gauge of private and public spending– grew 1.7% y-o-y in March, missing expectations of 1.9% and slowing from the 1.8% rise seen in the prior month. Chinese retail sales grew 1.7% y-o-y in March, missing expectations of 2.4% and slowing sharply from the 2.8% rise seen in the prior month. China’s unemployment rate unexpectedly grew to 5.4% in March from 5.3%, also missing expectations that it would fall to 5.2%. Iran war to boost Chinese export reliance- Capital Economics Capital Economics analysts said that the U.S.-Israel war on Iran was likely to further China’s economic reliance on exports. “While the Chinese economy is holding up well, it is becoming ever more dependent on external demand…The Iran War is likely to add to this trend,” Capital Economics analysts said in a note. They noted that higher fuel prices, stemming from the war, will likely weigh on domestic demand, while further boosting Chinese exports, especially those of renewable energy equipment. But China’s exports could also face headwinds from the Iran war, especially due to disruptions in global shipping activity from the conflict. Source: Investing.com 2026-04-16 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js',