China: domestic consumption drives first-quarter growth

Despite international trade tensions, Chinese domestic consumption is holding up well at the start of 2025.

In the first quarter, the wholesale and retail sectors grew by 5.8% year-on-year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Commerce.

The added value of these two sectors now reaches 3,300 billion yuan, or over $450 billion, and represents over 10% of Chinese GDP.

On the retail side, sales of goods totaled 11,000 billion yuan, up 4.6%. The increase was driven in particular by the consumer stimulus program launched by Beijing, which enabled more than 40 million new household appliances to be sold in the first three months of the year.

In the wholesale sector, major commodity markets generated 1,300 billion yuan in transactions. This dynamism reflects robust domestic demand, despite a more tense international context.

For Beijing, this dynamic is an encouraging signal at a time when exports are weakened by US customs sanctions, and China is seeking to rebalance its growth through local consumption.

source: africa news