According to government statistics released on Monday, the world’s second-largest economy grew by 2.3% in 2020 compared to a year earlier.
It is China’s slowest annual growth in decades – not since 1976 has the country had a worse year, when GDP contracted 1.6% in a time of social and economic turmoil.
But during a year in which a crippling pandemic plunged major global economies into recession, China has clearly come out on top. The expansion also exceeded expectations: the International Monetary Fund, for example, predicted that the Chinese economy would grow by 1.9% in 2020. It is the only major global economy that the IMF expected to grow at all.
The pace of recovery is also accelerating. According to the government, the Chinese economy grew by 6.5% in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier. That is faster than the 4.9% growth recorded in the third quarter.
This is a story in progress and will be updated.