Everyone was expecting China to go back to its pre-pandemic levels of production, but instead, results have been disappointing.
China already had to face quite a challenge: Recover from virtually three years of putting most of its economy on pause, due to the drastic measures adopted during the pandemic.
Official statistics published for the month of April 2023 revealed mixed results. Let's see how is China truly doing.
Retail sales grew 18.4% in the timespan of a year, but still falls short of what experts forecasted, according to French financial publication 'La Tribune'. The Chinese government had a lot of expectation on the reopening of businesses and shopping centers.

Not only that, unemployment among young people between the ages of 16 and 24 surpassed a record-breaking 20%.
After 3% last year, Chinese authorities are maintaining a modest growth target of 5% in 2023. According to economist Zhiwei Zhang, as cited by 'La Tribune', this low level of expectation leaves a lot of room for the government to come up with strategies.
Even if 5% seems difficult, it would be one of the lowest annual growth rates for China in recent decades, which peaked at 14% at in 2007.
Meanwhile, Business Insider reported that China's gloomy economic outlook makes international investors more cautious about investing in the Asian superpower.
(With inputs from agencies)