China’s economy grew by about 2 percent in 2020, becoming one of the few major countries to report such growth amid an economically devastating pandemic.
Economic activity in China shrank by nearly 7 percent in the first quarter of last year, the Associated Press reports. However, the government’s decision to quickly shut down most of the economy seemed to allow the country to reopen sooner than other businesses.
However, the AP reported that 2020 was still the worst year in terms of growth for China since the 1990s, when the country became internationally isolated after the Tiananmen Square democracy movement.
Iris Pang, chief ING economist for the China region, told the AP that “it is too early to conclude that this is a full recovery,” despite the relatively positive growth the country experienced.
“External demand has not fully recovered yet. This is a big hurdle, ”added Pang.
The demand for medical supplies such as masks has been a boon to China’s exports, but they charged high rates President Trump
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President-elect Biden has indicated that he will maintain Trump’s tariffs once he takes office. In his first interview after winning the presidential election, Biden said Trump’s approach to China had been “backwards”, while also stating that he expected the country to play by “international standards” during his administration.
The impact of the pandemic on the global economy brought China closer to the US in terms of economic output, notes the AP with total activity of about $ 15.6 trillion, about 75 percent of the $ 20.8 trillion for the U.S. is projected by the International Monetary Fund. The U.S. economy is expected to contract by about 4.3 percent in 2020.