China’s economy grew during the first quarter of this year at an annual rate of 4.5% of GDP. Data from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics released yesterday showed that the growth rate of the Chinese economy on a quarterly basis, after taking into account seasonal variables, reached 2.2%, indicating that China’s industrial output grew by 3.9% annually in March. Retail sales in China increased last month by 10.6% annually, while investment in fixed assets in China rose last March by 5.1% annually, while the unemployment rate declined last month to 5.3%.