The world’s second-largest economy grew 18.3% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to a year earlier, according to government statistics released Friday. That is the best quarterly growth since 1992, when China started publishing such figures.
The increase is mainly due to a low base effect, as China had shut down large parts of its economy in early 2020 to contain the coronavirus outbreak. According to the government, the Chinese economy grew only 0.6% on a quarterly basis from January to March. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the economy had grown by 6.5%.
Nevertheless, the growth figures indicate that the economic recovery in China continues to gain momentum.
The world’s second largest economy has performed well compared to the rest of the world. China was the only major economy to grow in 2020, growing 2.3% as many countries struggled to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The Chinese authorities called last year’s performance “better than we expected”.
Earlier this week, customs statistics showed that the country’s imports rose by more than 38% in US dollars last month compared to a year earlier, a sign that demand in China is picking up. Exports grew by nearly 31%.