China reports 3% GDP growth for 2022 as December retail sales, industrial production beat estimates

BEIJING — China reported GDP growth for 2022 that beat expectations as December retail sales came in far better than projected.

GDP grew by 3% in 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. That was better than the 2.8% forecast in a Reuters’ poll. The GDP growth number did miss the official target of around 5.5% set in March. In 2021, China’s growth had rebounded by 8.4% from just 2.2% growth in 2020.

Fourth-quarter GDP rose by 2.9%, beating expectations from the Reuters’ poll of 1.8% growth.

Retail sales fell by 0.2% for the year. But retail sales in December declined by 1.8% from a year ago, less than the expected 8.6% plunge predicted by a Reuters’ poll.

Within retail sales, those of catering fell by 6.3% in 2022. Sales of apparel, cosmetics and jewelry all declined for the year. Medicine was one of the bright spots, after sales surged by nearly 40% in December from a year ago.

Online retail sales of physical goods rose by 17.2% in December from a year ago, according to CNBC calculations of official data accessed through Wind. Those online sales accounted for 27.2% of total retail sales.

In 2022, the metropolis of Shanghai locked down for about two months in an attempt to control a Covid outbreak. China’s stringent zero-Covid policy restricted travel and business activity across the country.

Authorities abruptly relaxed most controls in early December, amid a surge in local infections. While far more people plan to travel around the upcoming Lunar New Year, analysts expect Chinese consumer sentiment will take a few months to recover.

Industrial production rose by 3.6% in 2022. The figure rose by 1.3% in December, well above the 0.2% predicted by the Reuters’ poll.

Fixed asset investment for 2022 rose by 5.1%, slightly above the 5% expected by Reuters. Infrastructure investment on a year-to-date basis grew faster in December than in November, while investment into manufacturing slowed its growth. Real estate investment fell by 10% in 2022, a steeper drop than recorded for the year through November.

The unemployment rate in cities was 5.5.% as of December, while that of younger people ages 16 to 24 remained far higher at 16.7%.

“The foundation of (the) domestic economic recovery is not solid as the international situation is still complicated and severe while the domestic triple pressure of demand contraction, supply shock and weakening expectations is still looming,” the statistics bureau said in a release.