China's economy grew 5% last year, matching the government's target, but in a lopsided fashion, with many people complaining of worsening living standards as Beijing struggles to transfer its industrial and export gains to consumers.

China’s economy grew more than expected in the last three months of 2024, official data showed on Friday, as it awaits the likely imposition of fresh tariffs by US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next week.

China’s economy expanded 5% in 2024, meeting the official target of “around 5%” growth after stimulus measures introduced late last year appear to be working.

There are increasing doubts about government statistics with many estimates that the growth rate is around half the official level.

China notified the International Monetary Fund on Thursday that its economy grew by 5% in 2024, IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told reporters, calling the development a "positive surprise" compared to the IMF's forecast of 4.

Gao’s sin? Saying that China may have grown just 2% over the last two or three years, less than half the rate Xi’s government claims. The reason Gao is allegedly being silenced is for shining a brighter-than-usual spotlight on one of the biggest perception problems facing Xi’s Communist Party: that China routinely cooks the GDP books.

KEY TAKEAWAYS China met its annual 5% GDP growth target for 2024, thanks to the stimulus measures that buoyed economic activity in the fourth quarter.According to the country's National Bureau of Statistics,

Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, highlighted during a Friday meeting with the media that the 5% GDP growth of the Chinese economy in 2024 was a "positive surprise.