Update: China’s First-Quarter GDP Growth Beats Expectations at 5.3%

China’s GDP beat expectations and grew 5.3% year-on-year in the first quarter, buoyed by strong exports and manufacturing investment, but weak domestic demand and an ailing property market remained concerns.

The latest figure, published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday, came in higher than the average estimate of 4.9% growth in a recent Caixin survey of economists, despite a high base in the same period last year. It also exceeded the 5.2% growth in the fourth quarter.

Chart: China’s GDP Growth