Beijing, Apr 18 (AP) China's economic growth edged up to a still-weak 4.8 per cent over a year earlier in the first three months of 2022 as spreading coronavirus outbreaks prompted shutdowns of major industrial cities.

Growth crept up from the previous quarter's 4 per cent, when the economy was slammed by tighter government controls on use of debt by China's vast real estate industry, official data showed Monday. Compared with the previous quarter, as other major economies are, growth slipped to 1.3 per cent in January-March from 1.4 per cent in the previous quarter.

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First quarter growth was below the ruling Communist Party's official target of 5.5 per cent for the year, which forecasters have said will be hard to hit without heavy government spending on stimulus.

Retail spending, factory output and investment in factories, real estate and other fixed assets rose.

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“The national economic recovery was sustained and the operation of the economy was generally stable,” said a government statement. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)