‘Zero Covid’ Behind It, China’s Economy Starts to Recover

Economic growth began to recover in China during the first three months of the year, after the government abruptly lifted stringent “zero Covid” measures in early December.

The Chinese economy grew 4.5 percent from January through March compared with the same months last year, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.

The stakes for the rest of the world are high. China has been the single largest engine of global growth for most of the past two decades. Despite simmering tensions with the United States, and growing disagreements with Europe, China remains highly interdependent with both of their economies. The International Monetary Fund warned last week that the world faces an increasing risk of a painful slowdown this year as central bankers in the West raise interest rates and banks stumble.

Tuesday’s gross domestic product report indicates that China, the world’s second-largest economy, is coming back to life.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Li You contributed research.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/17/business/china-gdp-q1-2023.html