China's economy grows faster than expected

Thursday, April 16, 2026

China's economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of the year, even as countries around the world feel the impact of the US-Israel war with Iran. Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 5% in the period, compared to a year earlier, according to official data. Economists had expected the figure to come it at around 4.8%. That came despite the conflict in the Middle East, which started on 28 February, severely disrupting global energy supplies, with Asian countries hit particularly hard.

Posted by REDIAL at 12:00 AM | 2 COMMENTS | permalink

Comments

Pres Trump touts the decline in imports for the US as a consequence of his tariffs.

But what he fails to note is that World Trade seems now to be bypassing the US.

And China seems to be the main beneficiary of that new routing of world trade.

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-04-16 12:29 AM

@#1

World Trade Without the US
www.cato.org

... As the Trump administration imposes a barrage of illegal and unprecedented tariffs on an ever-increasing number of imported products, the rest of the world is showing that it can continue trading despite these tariffs and without the United States.

Other countries are lowering trade barriers with each other by concluding new bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements, and exporters are reconfiguring supply chains to route around American protectionism.

Regardless of whether the United States remains indispensable to the global economy, international trade is still happening -- and it is happening increasingly without the United States. ...

[emphasis mine]