Oct 19, 2020 - Economy & Business

How China's economy bounced back from coronavirus

Illustration of exclamation point with a Chinese star

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Chinese officials said Monday that GDP "expanded by 4.9% in the third quarter from a year earlier, putting China’s economy back toward its pre-coronavirus trajectory," The Wall Street Journal reports from Beijing.

Why it matters: This shows a superpower economy can bounce back quickly after the virus is defeated.

China revived its economy in roughly three stages, The Journal writes:

  1. First, by shutting down most economic activity.
  2. In April, authorities got factories revved up again, allowing exports to increase.
  3. Then, in the third quarter, with the virus almost stamped out, authorities began encouraging consumers to venture out and open their wallets.

Lei Yanqiu, a Wuhan resident in her early 30s, told the N.Y. Times: "You’ve had to line up to get into many restaurants in Wuhan, and for Wuhan restaurants that are popular on the internet, the wait is two or three hours."

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