Chinese Banks Seek Crypto Partnerships Amid 4.5% Q1 GDP Growth

According to government data released on Tuesday, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) surged 4.5% in the first quarter of the year, driven by a rise in consumption and retail sales, after authorities abruptly ended their strict “zero-COVID” policy.

China announced that its GDP growth in the first quarter was 4.5%, the expected 4%, and the previous was 2.9%; the CPI rose by 1.3% in the first quarter; the total retail sales of social consumer goods in March increased by 10.6%. https://t.co/cE8TDx81yE

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) April 18, 2023

Moreover, the growth in the world’s second-largest economy from January to March, as compared to the same period in 2022, was the quickest in the past year and surpassed the 2.9% growth seen in the previous quarter.

Experts attribute the increase in GDP to a resurgence in consumption, as individuals returned to shopping malls and restaurants following the relaxation of stringent COVID-19 measures.

In March, the total retail sales of consumer goods climbed by 10.6% compared to the previous year, exhibiting a growth of 7.1 percentage points from the first two months of the year. Moreover, in March, industrial production output, which gauges the manufacturing, mining, and utilities sectors, surged by 3.9% as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

Additionally, fixed-asset investment, which involves China’s investment in infrastructure and other initiatives to stimulate growth, grew by 5.1% during the initial three months of 2023, as compared to the same period in the previous year.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s ambition to become a crypto hub has presented opportunities for state-affiliated banks in China to partner with regulated crypto firms in the city. Despite a ban on crypto activities in mainland China, these banks have expressed interest in collaborating with crypto firms in Hong Kong.

Wall Street Journal reported that the Hong Kong arm of the Bank of Communications is currently in talks to provide account services to registered crypto businesses in the city. These developments suggest that Chinese banks are exploring the crypto space through activities outside of mainland China.

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