China’s economic rebound from the pandemic at first glance looks more like a giant leap. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported a 18.3% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) year-on-year for the first quarter of 2021. But beneath these numbers, the story is more nuanced.
This year’s jump is compared to the massive decline in output seen during the first days of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic emerged and China’s industry ground to a halt. Looking at the results on a quarterly basis showed the year-on-year growth for the fourth quarter of 2020 was 6.5% and 2.3% for the year as a whole.