Beijing – China\u2019s economy grew at\u00a0the\u00a0slowest pace in more than four decades last year despite a rebound after the country\u2019s coronavirus outbreak, official data showed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2.3 percent expansion is the lowest figure since the Chinese economy embarked on major reforms in the 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said last year was a \u201cgrave and complex environment both at home and abroad\u201d with the pandemic having a \u201chuge impact\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The figure was a marked slowdown from 2019 growth of 6.1 percent itself already the lowest in decades with the country hit by weak domestic demand and trade tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it is better than that forecast by an AFP poll of analysts from 13 financial institutions, who predicted a 2.0 percent expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Covid-19, which has ravaged the world economy, first emerged in central China in late 2019. But the world\u2019s second-largest economy also became the first to bounce back after imposing strict lockdowns and virus control measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2.3pc expansion is lowest figure since Chinese economy embarked on major reforms in 1970s<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is expected to be the only major world economy clocking positive 2020 growth. In the last three months of 2020, China\u2019s economic rebound continued with a better-than-expected 6.5 percent growth on-year, a sustained improvement since the second quarter. This brings it back to a pre-pandemic trajectory, although full-year 2020 growth is still its worst performance since 1976, when the economy shrank 1.6 percent. That was two years before former leader Deng Xiaoping set in motion a shift away from communist-style central planning, turning China into an industrial, trade and tech powerhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recovery \u2018not yet firm\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NBS commissioner Ning Jizhe told reporters on Monday that the foundation for China\u2019s economic recovery \u201cis still not yet firm\u201d. \u201cThere are many uncertainties in the changing dynamics of the pandemic, as well as the external environment,\u201d he said. According to the latest data, industrial production grew 2.8 percent on-year for 2020, slowing further from previous years. Retail sales, whose recovery has lagged behind that of industrial activity, shrank 3.9 percent for the full year with consumers wary of spending as the pandemic lingered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the urban unemployment rate remained at 5.2 percent, and Ning said the number of newly-employed in urban areas was more than 11 million — exceeding the target of nine million. However, experts have cautioned that unemployment could be higher than official figures suggest due to large numbers of people in China\u2019s informal workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe strengthening momentum of China\u2019s economic rebound during the fourth quarter of 2020 reflected improving private consumption expenditure as well as buoyant net exports,\u201d Rajiv Biswas, IHS Markit\u2019s Asia-Pacific chief economist, told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that exports were helped by rebounding orders from the United States and Europe, including shipments of medical equipment during the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking ahead, new government restrictions due to Covid-19 outbreaks in two provinces could hamper first quarter growth this year, said Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics. But he added: \u201cFor now, we think the risk of major economic impact is low, given China\u2019s track record of containing outbreaks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Beijing – China\u2019s economy grew at\u00a0the\u00a0slowest pace in more than four decades last year despite a rebound after the country\u2019s coronavirus outbreak, official data showed. The 2.3 percent expansion is the lowest figure since the Chinese economy embarked on major reforms in the 1970s. The […]<\/p>\n
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