Gross domestic product expanded 5.2 percent, as China worked to export more to make up for weak demand, high debt and a steep property contraction at home.
Worries are growing in Washington that a flood of Chinese products could put new American investments in clean energy and high-tech factories at risk.
Attacks on two dozen ships since November are forcing shipping lines to figure out whether and when to skip the Suez Canal and send vessels on longer voyages around Africa.
The recall follows a similar move by the company in the United States to upgrade the cars’ Autopilot feature.
Sales by BYD, the country’s dominant automaker, topped 3 million last year, including 1.6 million fully battery-powered cars in a sign of China’s rapid growth in EVs.
The announcement underscores the threat to European and U.S. automakers posed by Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturers.
The country’s trade with Russia this year has exceeded $200 billion, and makers of cars and trucks are the big winners.
Volkswagen is shifting more operations to China, tapping the country’s electric vehicle capacity and building factories.
Two- and three-wheeled vehicles, used by billions of people, are moving away from fossil fuels to batteries faster than cars in countries that have made the energy transition a priority.
China misjudged the rapid expansion of its electric vehicle sector, leaving a shortfall of skilled technicians as young people shun manufacturing careers.