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China’s recovery from the virus so far has made it the only major expanding economy this year, according to IMF forecasts.
BEIJING: China’s economy grew 4.9% year-on-year in the third quarter, maintaining its recovery from virus lockdowns and approaching pre-pandemic levels, official data showed on Monday.
The world’s second-largest economy grew slightly below expectations in the July-September period, data from the National Statistics Office (NBS) showed, while warning of looming uncertainty, as “the international environment is still it’s complicated”.
So far, the country’s recovery has steered it to be the only major economy to expand this year, according to International Monetary Fund forecasts, as nations around the world continue to struggle with lockdowns and new waves of infections.
Analysts surveyed by AFP previously set third-quarter growth in China, where the coronavirus first appeared, at 5.2% from a year earlier, up from 3.2% in the second quarter.
China’s communist leadership has praised its handling of the virus, giving experimental vaccines to hundreds of thousands of its citizens as it seeks to reframe the history of the origin of the pandemic.
People in China have returned to shopping, traveling and eating, in stark contrast to many other parts of the world.
But long-term job fears and a possible rebound in the virus in China are hurting consumer confidence, despite the government’s attempts to revive domestic demand.
On Monday, data from NBS showed that retail sales grew faster than expected in September at 3.3%, down from 0.5% year-on-year growth the previous month.
But this still lagged behind industrial production growth, which was stronger than expected at 6.9 percent from a year ago last month.
Meanwhile, the urban unemployment rate fell again to 5.4% in September, although investment growth in fixed assets turned positive for the first time in 2020.
