NEWS

China puts COVID under the control of other large economies, allowing it to rebound faster than its global competitors.
As the economy consolidated its rapid recovery from the paralysis of the coronavirus in early 2020, China’s factory and retail activity surged in the first two months of this year, exceeding expectations.
Although the impressive data released on Monday has seriously deviated from the very low base of last year’s sharp decline, analysts said that despite this, they still show that China’s strong rebound remains intact.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the industrial output value increased by 35.1% year-on-year in the first two months, up from 7.3% in December last year, and higher than the 30% median growth expected by Reuters. Analyst survey.
Retail sales grew by 33.8%, which was also faster than the expected growth of 32%, which was a significant increase from the growth of 4.6% in December and the contraction of 20.5% from January to February 2020.
“We are optimistic about this year’s export and manufacturing investment prospects,” said Louis Kuys, head of Asian economics at the Oxford Institute for Economic Research. “And we expect that as confidence increases and the government’s call to reduce travel weakens, household consumption will increase. It has become the main driver of growth since the second quarter.”
China’s ability to contain the coronavirus pandemic before other major economies has allowed it to rebound more quickly.
By 2020, it is the only major economy that has recorded positive annual growth at 2.3%.
China’s export growth rate in February hit a record high [document: Shen Qilai/Bloomberg] The export growth rate in February hit a record high, and the price of factory gates recorded the largest increase since November 2018.
Due to the one-week Lunar New Year holiday, which is February 2021, China’s economic activity is usually distorted in the first two months.
Despite the statistical noise in the latest data, other indicators show that infrastructure is fully recovering. Compared with the first two months of 2019, total industrial output has increased by 16.9%, and retail sales have increased by 6.4%.
However, Liu Aihua, a spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics, warned that although the positive factors of the Chinese economy are increasing, the foundation for the recovery is not yet solid.
“The COVID-19 is still spreading around the world, and the global economic situation is complex and severe; at home, the imbalance of the recovery is still very obvious.” Liu said in Beijing.
The country had another sporadic COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year, but it was brought under control in early February.
The surveyed urban unemployment rate reversed the steady decline, rising from 5.2% in December to 5.5% in February, which shows that pressure on the Chinese job market is increasing.
Although millions of workers usually go home during the Lunar New Year holiday, many people still stay where they are this year due to fears about COVID-19. This kept the factory buzzing during this period, but it also had some impact on consumer spending.
Capital Economics analysts said in a report that seasonally adjusted monthly data showed that retail sales growth from January to February actually declined, which may be due to travel restrictions and unemployment The rate has risen.
An economist from Diava Capital Markets said in a report to Al Jazeera: “In the short term, China’s recovery is expected to remain unbalanced. Exports will bring benefits, but they cannot filter employment and household income. ”
Investment in fixed assets (funds used for land machinery, buildings and other long-term assets) increased by 35% over the same period last year in the first two months, which was lower than the expected 40% increase. In contrast, 2020 increased by 2.9% year-on-year, and plummeted by 24.5% from January to February last year.
Private sector investment in fixed assets accounted for 60% of total investment. It increased by 36.4% from January to February, and increased by 1% for the whole of 2020.
Beijing set a moderate annual economic growth target this month, which is higher than 6%, which is far below analysts’ consensus of over 8% this year.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said last week that the focus of this year’s growth is to consolidate economic recovery.
Zhang Yi, chief economist of China Overseas Shengrong Capital Management Co., Ltd., said that the recovery shown by monthly indicators may have reached its peak, which shows that momentum is slowing down.
However, he expects that infrastructure will still be boosted by loose fiscal policies, and exports may maintain growth as the world economy opens up.
The Chinese President told the CEO of APEC that Beijing will continue to cut tariffs and expand imports of high-quality goods.
After an increase of 3.2% between March and June, gross domestic product increased by 4.9% in the third quarter.
Former Minister of Industry Miao Wei said that China’s basic capabilities are still “weak” and risks have increased significantly.
Thanks to China’s vast delivery network, drivers and logistics companies are helping people stay on call indoors while promoting economic development.