China’s economic growth holds steady amid trade dispute
BEIJING — China’s economic growth held steady in the quarter ending in March amid a worsening trade dispute with U.S. President Donald Trump, buoyed by strong e-commerce and factory output.
The world’s second-largest economy expanded by 6.8 per cent over a year earlier, in line with the quarter ending in December and down slightly from 2017’s full-year expansion of 6.9 per cent, data showed Tuesday. It was above the official 2018 target of “around 6.5 per cent,” which would be among the world’s strongest if achieved.
A government spokesman expressed confidence China’s $12 trillion-a-year economy can withstand Trump’s threatened tariff hikes on up to $150 billion of Chinese goods in a dispute over technology policy.
China has “room to manoeuvr” following efforts to develop more self-sustaining growth based on domestic consumption and reduce reliance on trade, said Xing Zhihong, spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics.