Even while the coronavirus is developing into a global pandemic, China is largely bringing the infection rate back under control. The economy is recovering correspondingly quickly. The People's Republic should even close 2020 with a positive growth record.
After the Corona slump, China's economy is back on a growth path: In the third quarter, the second largest economy grew by 4.9 percent year-on-year, according to the Beijing statistics office. That is less than many analysts had hoped. According to a survey by the Chinese business magazine Caixin, an average increase of 5.5 percent was expected. However, the result was enough for China to more than offset the previous slump in the spring.
According to official figures, the country's economy grew by 0.7 percent in the first nine months of the year. In the first quarter, China posted negative economic growth of 6.8 percent for the first time since official records began in 1992. The economy picked up again shortly afterwards because the country was able to bring the virus under control faster than other states with strict measures such as the cordoning off of megacities, strict isolation and entry bans.
In the second quarter, growth was back at 3.2 percent. As the statistics office further announced, other important indicators also showed general improvements in the third quarter: industrial production rose by 5.8 percent and retail sales recorded an increase of 0.9 percent compared to the previous year. There have been hardly any new infections in China for months, so life and economic activities are returning to normal.
Foreign trade is becoming more important again
Economists assume that China will be the only major economy in 2020 that can close the year with positive growth. The recovery is progressing faster than expected, according to a new forecast by the International Monetary Fund last week. According to this, Chinese economic output will grow by 1.9 percent this year, 0.9 percentage points more than in the June estimate.
For 2021, the monetary fund continues to expect growth of 8.2 percent. For Germany, a decrease of 6.0 percent is expected this year and then an increase of 4.2 percent. According to the forecast, the US economy will shrink by 4.3 percent in 2020 and then grow by 3.1 percent in the coming year.
In addition to extensive economic aid, China's economy has recently benefited from stronger foreign trade. The exports of the second largest economy rose in September compared to the previous year by 9.9 percent, as the Beijing Customs Administration announced last week. Accordingly, imports had increased by 13.2 percent in the same period.
.