China is still struggling to fix its demand problem — and that's bad news for the likes of Apple and Tesla

• China's economy expanded by a better-than-expected 5.3% in the first three months of 2024.

• But analysts are flagging sluggish home and retail sales as a sign of weak demand.

• The slowdown could hit the bottom line of big US companies such as Apple and Tesla.

Economic data gave Beijing a glimmer of hope on Tuesday — but beneath the veneer of China's quarterly GDP numbers, there are still plenty of reasons for concern.

The world's second-largest economy expanded by 5.3% over the first three months of the year compared with the same period last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. That's higher than the 4.8% figure analysts polled by Bloomberg were expecting.

At face value, the better-than-expected GDP number is a sign that policymakers' fiscal and monetary policies are helping revive growth, but analysts warn there are still reasons to worry about China's economy.

Tuesday's data showed March retail sales rose 3.1% from a year ago, missing Bloomberg forecasts of 4.8% growth, while industrial output for last month climbed 4.5% — far below the 6% predicted by analysts.

New home sales meanwhile tumbled 31% over the first quarter, suggesting China's shaky property market is still dragging down growth.

Raymond Yeung, the chief China economist at the Australian bank ANZ, warned that all the signs pointed to the country still having a demand problem.