China's economy grows by 2.3% in 2020, lowest in four decades: NBS data

China recorded its lowest economic growth in more than 40 years as the country's economy grew by just 2.3 per cent. According to data provided by China's National Bureau of Statistics, China's economy grew by 2.3 per cent in 2020, its lowest since 1976. The agency cited COVID-19 shutdowns as the major reason behind the low economic growth in the country last year.  

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The National Bureau of Statistics data said that China's GDP in 2020 amounted to 101.59 trillion yuan, which converts to $15.68 trillion, which is an increase of 2.3 per cent from the previous year. Despite the low economic output, China's economy is the only one among the major economies of the world that have recorded some rise in 2020. Apart from China, all other major economies have witnessed a steep fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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Surpasses analysts' expectations 

The Chinese economy grew by 6.1 per cent in 2019, which itself was the lowest in decades because of low domestic demand and trade tensions with the United States. But, 2020 economic growth in China has now become the lowest since the reforms of the 1970s. However, it is still better than the economic output predicted by analysts of 13 financial institutions in an AFP poll last year, who has said China's economy will grow by just 2 per cent.

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The COVID-19 pandemic, which is believed to have originated in China in late 2019, triggered massive economic collapse across the world after governments had to order lockdowns and closure of businesses to prevent the spread of the virus. China also went into a lockdown in January last year, but it managed to bring the virus under control pretty soon and reopened the economy. As the rest of the world recorded a negative economic output, China was the only country to report positive growth. 

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(With inputs from ANI)