Foreign news
China’s first-quarter economy grows by 4.5% as recovery accelerates
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 4.5 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2023 as economic activities gain traction, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Tuesday.
“We are seeing an accelerating recovery in all sectors with stronger momentum, including the improving domestic demand,” said Pang Ming, chief economist and director of Research at JLL Greater China.
The growth rate was higher than analysts’ expectation of 4 percent in a Reuters poll.
The market expectation has significantly improved since the start of the year, said Fu Linghui, spokesperson of the NBS. He added that the economy’s growth rate in the second quarter is expected to accelerate significantly compared to the first quarter because of the low comparison base in the same period last year.
Going forward, Pang cautioned that policy support and targeted easing are still needed to secure sustainable growth amid external uncertainties.
China’s macroeconomic policies should keep domestic demand expansion as a priority in light of generally weak external demand, said Cheng Shi, chief economist at ICBC International.
In the first quarter, the total retail sales of consumer goods rose 5.8 percent year on year. Notably in March, consumer spending surged 10.6 percent year on year, 7.1 percentage points higher than that in the first two months.
There is divergence in the recovery pace among different consumption types, said Wen Bin, chief analyst at China Minsheng Bank. Offline and get-together spending continued to pick up, while the durable goods consumption was lacking, reflecting people’s income and willingness to shop require a further boost, he added.
A recent central bank survey of depositors showed that “tourism” tops the list of the expected increase in expenditure in the second quarter.
The investment in fixed assets grew by 5.1 percent year on year in the first quarter while the total added value of large industrial enterprises grew by 3.0 percent in the same period.
China has set a GDP growth target of around 5 percent for this year. Local governments around the country are gearing up support for the economy including optimizing the business environment, stabilizing employment and promoting consumption.
Foreign news
Finland-Nigeria future cooperation has a brighter prospect-envoy
Mrs Sanna Selin, the new Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, says Nigeria and Finland have a brighter future together through bilateral relations.
The envoy said this during her Finland’s 107 years National Day celebration, which was held on Wednesday night in Abuja.
She said that to promote stronger cooperation, both countries needed to learn from each other to build trust
.
According to Selin, the fact that Nigeria and Finland differ in many ways has not and will not prevent both nations from together finding mutual and beneficial solutions to shared challenges.
“The key is to better understand each other and each others’ needs by working tirelessly together to learn from one another and build trust.
“Nigeria and Finland share many common values. We work closely together in multilateral fora for a better world.
“As an Ambassador of Finland to Nigeria, I see our future brighter together”, she said.
Speaking on the Ukraine-Russian war, she said that the long-term aim for the Finnish Foreign Policy had been to promote peace, security, and sustainable development.
She said that for Finland, it was self-evident that supporting Ukraine is the obligation at the current war.
“My grandparents were the generation fighting for the independence and sovereignty of Finland. I am deeply grateful for their sacrifice.
“Ukraine is fighting, not only for its survival, but also defending the rules-based international order.
“From our own historical experience and fight for independence, we know what Ukraine is going through”, she said.
According to Selin, before independence from the Russian empire, all Finnish men and women gained full political rights to be voted and elected.
She said women used their political influence to demand for better school and healthcare for the Finnish people.
“Since 2018, the World Happiness Report has ranked Finland as the happiest country in the world.
“Relevant factors contributing to happiness seem to be Finland’s social safety net combined with personal freedom and a good work-life balance,’” she said.
NAN
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