Reviving G2... China Grows 18.3% in Q1, US Nasdaq Surpasses 34,000 for the First Time

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Cho Young-shin, New York=Special Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The Chinese economy is rapidly recovering from the impact of COVID-19.

The U.S. economy also showed significant improvements in retail sales and employment indicators, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassing the 34,000 mark for the first time ever. This is the first time since the pandemic that the economies of the two major countries (G2) have simultaneously shown signs of recovery.

On the 16th, China's National Bureau of Statistics announced that the gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter increased by 18.3% compared to the same period last year.

In January last year, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chinese economy experienced an unprecedented negative growth of minus 6.8% in the first quarter of the same year. Even considering the base effect, this is regarded as a rapid recovery. Analysts generally agree that the Chinese economy is on the path to normalization across all sectors, including exports, imports, manufacturing production, and consumption.

Some predict that the Chinese economy will grow by 8-9%, higher than the Chinese leadership's target of "over 6%" for this year.

On the 15th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 34,035.99, up 305.10 points (0.90%). The S&P 500 index rose 45.76 points (1.11%) to 4,170.42, and the Nasdaq index increased by 180.92 points (1.31%) to 14,038.76. The New York stock market reflected expectations of economic recovery as retail sales and employment indicators significantly improved.

In fact, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that March retail sales increased by 9.8% compared to the previous month. The market expectation was 6.1%.

Also, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that new unemployment claims totaled 576,000, significantly below the market expectation of 700,000. This is the lowest figure since the COVID-19 crisis began.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.