Guangzhou (JLC), April 16, 2026--China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5.0% year on year in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday (April 16).
The country's GDP reached 33.42 trillion yuan (about 4.87 trillion US dollars) in Q1, the NBS data shows.
Compared with the last quarter in 2025, China's GDP in Q1 2026 grew by 1.3%.
The value added by the primary industry rose by 3.8% year on year to roughly 1.19 trillion yuan in the period; that by the secondary industry grew by 4.9% to about 11.61 trillion yuan; and that by the tertiary industry mounted by 5.2% to 20.61 trillion yuan, the data also shows.
Retail sales of goods, a key measurement of consumer spending, grew by 2.4% year on year to 12.77 trillion yuan in the first three months.
The investment in fixed assets went up by 1.7% year on year to 10.27 trillion yuan. By sector, the investment in infrastructure construction climbed by 8.9%, that in manufacturing gained 4.1%, but that in real estate development dropped by 11.2%, the NBS said.
The investment in the primary and secondary industries surged by 15.9% and 5.8%, while that in the tertiary industry went down by 1.0%.
The value of China's imports and exports hit about 11.84 trillion yuan in Q1, a leap of 15.0% from the corresponding period of time last year. Its exports surged by 11.9% to 6.85 trillion yuan, while its imports soared by 19.6% to 4.99 trillion yuan.
The country's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up by 6.1% in the period, the NBS data also indicates.
