Taiwan's trade-dependent economy grew less than expected in the fourth quarter of 2024 but managed the fastest growth in three years last year at 4.3%, reaping the benefits of the AI boom and a recovery in demand from China.

Gao’s sin? Saying that China may have grown just 2% over the last two or three years, less than half the rate Xi’s government claims. The reason Gao is allegedly being silenced is for shining a brighter-than-usual spotlight on one of the biggest perception problems facing Xi’s Communist Party: that China routinely cooks the GDP books.

Taiwan's 4Q24 GDP growth slowed sharply to 1.8% year-on-year, down from 4.2% YoY in 3Q24. This reading was softer than both our and the market's forecasts and marked the lowest YoY growth since 3Q23. Nonetheless, growth was sufficient to keep full-year growth at a respectable 4.3% YoY, the fastest growth rate since the pandemic-skewed 2021.

Taiwan’s GDP expanded at a faster-than-expected pace last quarter, bringing full-year economic growth to 4.3 percent — the most robust performance in three years, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.

Taiwan's trade-dependent economy grew less than expected in the fourth quarter of 2024 but managed strong 4.3% growth for the full year, reaping the benefits of the AI boom and a recovery in demand from China.