The Chinese economy grew at an annual rate of 6.9% in the second quarter of 2017 against the prior year, according to official figures.
The growth rate was higher than forecast and above the Chinese government’s 6.5% growth target for the year. Economists polled by Reuters had expected 6.8 percent growth in the April to June period against the same period last year.
China’s economy expanded by 6.9% in the first quarter of the year as well.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement: “The national economy performed within an appropriate range with more visible good momentum,”
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, China’s GDP increased by 1.7% in the second quarter.
Fixed asset investment rose by 8.6% in the first half of the year, while property investment increased by 8.5%.
Tighter lending rules implemented by Beijing may not have as much of an impact on growth as most had expected, some analysts say.
Iris Pang, Greater China Economist with ING, was quoted by the BBC as saying:
“Property prices will have an impact in the second half, but the impact might not be as big as we thought. It is only on prime cities. The third-tier and fourth-tier cities might catch up a little bit and that will offset some of the slowdown in first tier cities,”
Retail sales increased 11.0 percent in June from last year, topping what analysts polled by Reuters had forecast of a 10.6 percent increase.
Industrial output for June rose 7.6%.