China’s economy faster-than-expected growth In the first quarter, but official data showed consumer activity contracted as lockdown measures to combat the spread of Covid-19 weighed on the country’s outlook.

After growing 4% in the final three months of 2021, China’s GDP grew by 4.8% year-on-year. On a quarterly basis, GDP grew 1.3%.

Retail sales, a measure of consumer spending, fell 3.5% in March, the first contraction since July 2020, as authorities tightened restrictions in response to the country’s worst coronavirus outbreak in more than two years.

The figures will add pressure to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government, which has reiterated its commitment to a zero-coronavirus policy despite mounting costs and disruptions in big cities. In April, infections rose across China, and its main financial center, Shanghai, remained largely under lockdown.

• Lock effect: this Shanghai closed city Starting in late March, that means its full impact will not be recorded in the first-quarter report, which does account for less severe lockdowns in manufacturing hubs Shenzhen and Jilin.

• Rich people want to leave: Chinese immigration adviser says inquiries from wealthy trying to leave soar Frustration with Beijing’s zero-coronavirus strategy has been highlighted in the wake of Shanghai’s lockdown.

What do you think of Beijing’s zero-epidemic strategy?share your thoughts with me [email protected]. Thank you for reading FirstFT Asia. — Emily

Latest news on the war in Ukraine

Five more stories in the news

1. Gold rises to a one-month high Gold climbed on Monday, U.S. stocks slipped on recession fears Weak global economy There are signs that the coronavirus lockdown has clouded China’s growth prospects.

2. Whiskey on Johnson’s table as he heads to New Delhi Leading Scotch whisky maker Chivas Brothers says it aims to Exports to India double If New Delhi lifts whisky tariffs, it is the UK’s top demand in bilateral trade talks ahead of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to India this week.

3. Sri Lankan president appoints new leader President Gotabaya Rajapaksa 17 cabinet members appointed Yesterday, protests against alleged economic mismanagement continued to disrupt the country. Rajapaska has chosen young leaders to appease the public, but his 76-year-old brother Mahinda Rajapaksa will remain prime minister. (The Straits Times)

4. Marine Le Pen denies reports of EU funding misuse French far-right presidential challenger Marine Le Pen dismiss the charges She has misappropriated tens of thousands of EU funds as “dirty tricks” and is less than a week away from a fierce electoral race against Emmanuel Macron.

5. Britain braces for a prolonged period of stagflation Prolonged low GDP growth combined with risk of high UK inflation increased After consumer prices surged more than expected and economic growth slowed to a crawl.

coronavirus digest

• A sort of American judge stopped The Biden administration’s mask requirements for public transit passengers.

• China’s Zero Outbreak Policy The world has been told that, if ever, it is impossible to fight the virus with suppression alone. Ways to coexist with viruses A must find, writes our editorial board.

• this number of births developed economies to a large extent rebound A FT analysis showed a return to pre-pandemic levels – partly due to stimulus.

the day ahead

Bank Indonesia meeting Bank Indonesia’s policymakers will meet and make an interest rate decision.

Johnson faces UK parliament A defiant Boris Johnson will face MPs for the first time since being fined over the “Partygate” incident, with allies privately criticising the Metropolitan Police’s handling of the issue.British Prime Minister will Apologize to MPs But will insist he had no idea he had broken his own Covid-19 lockdown rules.

IMF World Economic Outlook With inflation in the US and UK hitting 40-year highs and 30-year highs respectively this week, the IMF said its forecasts due today will also show Rapidly rising prices will last longer than previously thought.

Join us for the FT Crypto & Digital Asset Summit April 26-27. Register today Be a part of important conversations with the global financial and corporate elite as they forge the way forward to connect traditional finance and future crypto leaders.

what are we still reading

US-China Tech Race: Shock and Awe In this latest episode of the US-China tech rivalry, Demetri Sevastopulo, US-China correspondent for the Financial Times tell the inside story His exclusive coverage of China’s secret hypersonic weapons tests and how they are changing geopolitics.

After violent attacks, Asian Americans take safety into their own hands Since the epidemic, Anti-Asian hatred escalates in AmericaWhen Amanda Chu spoke to Asian Americans in New York City, the police department estimated that hate crimes against them would rise by more than 360 percent in 2021.

OK, baby boomers: Generations are not real. class is. Desperate people — like marketing professionals or opinion columnists whose deadlines have passed — Likes to talk about “generations” Because they’re a neat way to sell someone something they probably wouldn’t buy, writes Stephen Bush. For more information on Stephen, please register here Get our latest newsletter Inside Politics.

India’s largest merger ever $40 billion merger plan between India’s largest private bank and mortgage provider approved Driven by stricter regulation Deepak Parekh, chairman of HDFC Bank and Housing Development Finance Corporation, the head of the country’s shadow banking sector, told the Financial Times.

Donald Trump and the GOP’s Midterm Dilemma The Republican Senate primary in Pennsylvania next month is become a key event In this year’s midterm elections, it could decide which party controls the upper house of Congress. In 2020, US President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the state, but only by a narrow margin.

Fashion

Hard luxury goods drive the retail market, as watches and jewelry tend to retain or even increase in value. Clothing has historically been a poor investment, losing about 90% of its value on purchase.But the boom in online retailing and changing attitudes towards second-hand goods spawned a huge online market For used goods.