China’s economic growth surged to 18.3 per cent over a year earlier in the first quarter of 2021 but an explosive rebound in factory and consumer activity following the coronavirus pandemic is levelling off.

The figures reported Friday were magnified by comparison with early 2020 when the world’s second-largest economy suffered its deepest contraction in decades. Growth compared with the final quarter of 2020, when recovery was underway, was only 0.6 per cent, among the past decade’s lowest.

The latest headline figures “mask a sharp slowdown” as government stimulus is withdrawn, said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics in a report. He said 0.6 per cent growth compared with the previous quarter was the past decade’s second-lowest after the plunge at the start of 2020.

“China’s post-COVID rebound is levelling off,” Evans-Pritchard said.

Manufacturing and consumer activity have returned to normal since the ruling Communist Party declared victory over the coronavirus last March and allowed factories and stores to reopen. Restaurants and shopping malls are filling up, though visitors still are checked for the virus’s telltale fever.

The economy “delivered a stable performance with a consolidated foundation and good momentum of growth,” the National Bureau of Statistics said in a report.

The jump in growth was in line with expectations due to the low basis for comparison in early 2020. Then, the economy shrank by 6.8per cent in the first quarter, China’s worst performance since at least the mid-1960s.

Activity started to recover in the second quarter of 2020 when the economy expanded by 3.2 per cent over a year earlier. That accelerated to 4.9 per cent in the third quarter and 6.5 per cent in the final three months of the year.

For the full year, China eked out 2.3per cent growth, becoming the only major economy to expand while United States, Europe and Japan struggled with renewed disease outbreaks.

Government data indicate consumer spending are accelerating while growth in factory output and investment are slowing.

First-quarter retail spending rose 33.9 per cent over a year earlier, while growth in March rose to 34.2 per cent, according to the NBS. Factory output rose 24.5 per cent while investment in real estate, factories and other fixed assets rose 25.6 per cent.

Slowing manufacturing growth “implies a normalizing growth path in the months ahead,” said Chaoping Zhu of JP Morgan Asset Management in a report. “The focus should be on consumption data, which kept improving in March in comparison with the previous month.”