Did China's economy grow 5 percent last year like authorities stated? An expert on China’s economy is casting doubt.
“There's no way you can have such a high rate of growth and also huge unemployment,” said Frank Xie, the John M. Olin Palmetto Chair in Business at the University of South Carolina Aiken. “When you grow your economy, you have to hire people, so you cannot have a high growth rate while still having a high unemployment.”
Chinese authorities say its unemployment rate last year hovered over 5 percent. However, youth unemployment in the country has been around 20 percent since the COVID-19 pandemic.
A recent report from Rhodium Group estimates China's actual GDP last year was below 3 percent, well below the official figure.
The report says China has been facing deflation for ten consecutive quarters. Since no economy has ever posted five-percent GDP growth during years of deflation, experts doubt China achieved this.