China’s economy grew nearly five percent in the third quarter of this year, as the Communist power races toward an economic recovery while leaving behind other nations crippled by the coronavirus pandemic.
The country’s gross domestic product expanded 4.9 percent from July to September, government statistics released Monday stated, a slight dip from the original 5.5 percent projection.
Despite not meeting projections, the third-quarter numbers are a significant improvement from second-quarter growth, which came in at 3.2 percent.
Back in April, just one month after the novel virus hit the US, China suffered its worst financial contraction since at least the 1970s, with the economy shrinking 6.8 percent.
China, a nation that has faced a wave of international scrutiny over the past few years, has seen global tensions reach new heights amid the Communist nation’s refusal to accept responsibility for its lack of transparency and negligence at the outset of the coronavirus outbreak.
In the third quarter of 2020, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, industrial production rose 5.8 percent while retail sales rose 0.9 percent.
Retail was up from a 7.2 percent contraction that occurred in the first two quarters of the year. The services sector, meanwhile, grew 4.3 percent in the third quarter.
Unlike much of the world, the Chinese Communist Party said that they had “defeated” the novel virus in March, reopening factories and other establishments quickly, while their global counterparts were still engaged in lockdowns.
In January, things appeared to be looking up economically for the United States and China, when both signed the phase one of a new trade deal.
The deal ended a bitter trade war between the two countries that took place amid months of tense negotiations.
As a result of China’s handling of the virus, President Trump has said he is “not interested” in engaging in trade discussions for a possible phase two deal.
“We made a great trade deal, but as soon as the deal was done, the ink wasn’t even dry and they hit us with the plague. So right now I’m not interested in talking to China about another deal. I’m interested in doing other things with China,” he told CBS News in July.
With Post Wires