China’s economy expands by a surprisingly strong pace in the first quarter of 2024

China’s economy grew stronger than expected at the start of this year, mainly thanks to robust growth in high-tech manufacturing. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.3% in the first quarter from a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. That beat the estimate of 4.6% growth from a Reuters poll of economists. It also marked an acceleration from the 5.2% growth in