China's economy grew 2.3% last year… Maximum increase in 5 years of trade surplus

It was found that the Chinese economy grew 2.3% last year despite the global novel coronavirus outbreak. China's National Bureau of Statistics today (18th) announced that the fourth quarter of 2020 (October-December) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 6.5% from the same period last year. This is 4 percentage points lower than 6.1% in 2019. It is also the lowest level since 1976. However, China is showing a rapid recovery, considering that the world's major countries are still in “minus” growth due to the unprecedented aftermath of the corona spread last year. China's GDP growth in the first quarter of 2019, when the coronavirus spread in earnest, plummeted to -6.8%. However, in the second quarter, it quickly turned to a positive increase again to 3.2%, followed by 4.9% in the third quarter and 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Exports have driven this economic recovery. Last year, the annual trade surplus surpassed $535 billion, the largest since 2015. In particular, it was found that demand for electronic products such as electronic products increased sharply as the number of working from home along with Chinese quarantine supplies increased.

 

Retail sales overall stagnated, down 3.9% from a year ago. However, online retail sales increased by 10.9% per year. Experts analyzed that although expectations for China's economic recovery are growing, the overheating of the real estate market and the corona situation, which is on the rise again, will be a challenge.