[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyun-jung] China's December economic indicators showed simultaneous improvement. After the government abandoned the zero-COVID policy and confirmed cases surged sharply, economic activities that had stalled are gradually returning to normal.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China on the 17th, retail sales, which indicate changes in consumer spending, decreased by -1.8% year-on-year in December last year. Although still in negative growth territory, this significantly exceeded the previous month's figure (-5.9%) and market expectations (-8.6%).
Industrial production in the same month also increased by 1.3%, surpassing the forecast (0.2%). This was somewhat slower than the previous quarter (2.2%), when COVID-19 case trends were stable. Fixed asset investment, which reflects changes in capital investment in urban factories, roads, power grids, and real estate, was found to have increased by 5.1% in December. Although this was below the previous figure (5.3%), it slightly exceeded experts' forecasts (5.0%).
The unemployment rate in China for December, announced on the same day, was 5.5%, lower than the forecast (6.0%) and improved compared to the previous month (5.7%).
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