China became the first country to post an economic recovery in the COVID-19 era, according to government figures.
On Monday, Beijing reported an economic growth of 4.9% for the third quarter, its second straight quarter of gross domestic product expansion.
As two consecutive quarters of negative growth typically define a recession, two-quarters of growth indicate recovery. China is the first G20 nation to post two straight quarters of growth since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
While a bit lower than most analysts expected, the new figures showed significant acceleration over China’s 3.2% growth in the second quarter.
Beijing’s report Monday said Chinese GDP has expanded 0.7% so far for the year, after a 1.6% contraction over the first half. The International Monetary Fund said in June it expected the global economy to contract by nearly 5% in 2020.
China’s report noted a significant increase in industrial output and a small rise in retail sales.
