China’s GDP grew by 7.9% from a year ago in Q2, moderating from the 18.3% pace in Q1 2021. This is attributable to a higher base for year-over-year comparison and resurgence of COVID-19 cases in some areas. Taking the past two years together, the annualised average growth rate improved from 5.0% in Q1 to 5.5% in Q2. However, we expect economic growth to face more challenges in H2 due to a higher base, lingering pandemic controls and uncertainty in the global environment. Overall, the economy grew 12.7% in the first half of the year and we maintain our GDP forecast of 8.8% for the full year 2021.

Other Issues