According to a report, China is the only major country in the world who has reported a growth of 2% in the year 2020, when economies collapsed due to the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Associated Press, economic activity in China decreased by almost 7% in the first quarter of 2020. The Chinese government swiftly shut down most operations and controlled the spread of the virus allegedly better than other countries making it easier and faster to revive its economy.
The Associated Press also reported that despite its early recovery, 2020 has been the country’s worse year as far as growth is mapped, since the nineteen nineties, when China faced international isolation after the massacre at Tiananmen Square.
The chief ING economist for the China region, Iris Pang, told AP that it was too early to conclude that it was a full recovery despite the country’s positive growth. He added, “External demand has not yet fully recovered. This is a big hurdle.”
Chinese-made exports including masks and other medical supplies have been a boon for the country’s economic growth but heavy tariffs, mandated by the Trump administration, have had a negative effect.
President Joe Biden is most likely to keep these tariffs, after January 20. Although he had called Trump’s approach to China “backwards” he had also said that he expected China to adopt “international norms” during his administration.
The U.S. economy is expected to shrink by 4.3% in 2020. The Associated Press also noted that the pandemic brought China closer to the U.S. in terms of economic output according to IMF projections.
