China’s Q2 growth is “artificially high”: Survey

BEIJING: An AFP survey expects China’s second-quarter economic growth to jump, but specialists believe Monday’s results will be misleadingly inflated due to the low base of comparison with pandemic-wracked 2022.

China posted 0.4 percent on-year growth a year ago, one of its lowest quarterly readings in recent years, due to abrupt lockdowns, travel restrictions, and manufacturing shutdowns.

AFP contacted 13 analysts who predicted a 7.1 percent April-June economic growth. Gene Ma from the Institute of International Finance claimed this figure is “artificially high because of the low base” in 2022.

Last year, Shanghai, the financial capital of 25 million people, was locked down for two months. On Monday, the world’s second-largest economy’s quarter-on-quarter growth figures should be more accurate.

After the zero-Covid policy ended in December, it grew 4.5 percent in the first quarter. The modest rebound in some areas appears to be fading.