China’s economy grew by 8.1% in 2021, as industrial production rose steadily through the end of the year and offset falling retail sales, according to official data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

According to the Bureau of Statistics, GDP in the fourth quarter grew by 4% compared to last year. That’s faster than the 3.6% growth forecast from the Reuters poll. For the full year, Chinese economists were expecting growth to average 8.4% in 2021, according to financial data provider Wind Information.

In 2021, investment in manufacturing grew by 13.5% year-over-year, with special-purpose machinery investment growing the most, up 24.3% year-on-year, according to data sourced through Wind.