From Bloomberg (link)
China, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, expanded by an estimated 10.2 percent in the first quarter of this year from a year earlier, President Hu Jintao said.
That is higher than every forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 25 economists. The median forecast was for first- quarter gross domestic product growth of 9.6 percent from the year earlier period, compared with 9.9 percent in the fourth quarter. Hu made the comments in a speech at the Great Hall of the People today during a meeting with the former chairman of Taiwan’s nationalist party Lien Chan.
“This growth rate is above market expectations,”‘ said Tai Hui, Hong Kong-based economist with Standard Chartered Bank. “Consumption, investment are still steaming ahead and the large trade surplus we saw in the first quarter will have contributed to this rapid level of growth.”
