What's going on?

Data out on Wednesday showed that China�s economy is pulsing with strong signs of life.

What does this mean?

China’s recent car sales didn’t quite live up to folks� visions of a super-powered post-COVID boom � but the country�s receiving some good news at last. Data out on Wednesday showed the economy�s started to thaw, with retail sales up 3.5% in the first two months of the year compared to the same time last year. That�s a welcome return to growth after months of decline, and it�s not the only boon China�s seeing: industrial output also sped up, and the value of new apartment sales is ticking up too. And get this: half of this data deals with January, when a new wave of Covid infections swept China � so it probably doesn�t reflect the true strength of the economy.

Why should I care?

Zooming in: Splash the cash.
Analysts expect this momentum to continue, but the country still needs to overcome some pitfalls. Take unemployment: the government thought the reopening would lead to a pickup in hiring � but with joblessness on the rise, that�s clearly not what�s happening. And that means China�s probably going to need to inject some cash into the system in order to hit growth targets. In fact, it�s already made a start: the central bank poured more money into the financial system on Wednesday than it has at any time since 2020.

The bigger picture: Visit China.
China’s growth goals may not be ambitious, but hitting them will still turn up the dial of global demand � and with the recession-threatened West not pulling its economic weight, that would be a real relief. One area that stands to benefit a lot is tourism in Southeast Asia, as Chinese jet-setters fare forth once again. And as of this week, it�s a two-way street: after three years of national navel-gazing, China�s reopening its borders to foreign tourists.