Despite the Covid-19 crisis, China managed to end 2020 with a gross domestic product up 2.3%, above market expectations of 2.1%, and exceed an annual value of 100 trillion yuan for the first time.
According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, GDP stood at 101,598.6 billion yuan last year, or about $15,420 billion. In percentage terms, however, this is the slowest growth in more than 40 years.
China’s fourth-quarter growth boom
The leap recorded in the fourth quarter was significant, when GDP increased by 6.5% per year, more than the 6.1% expected by analysts and the 4.9% recorded in the previous three months, while growth on a quarterly basis was 2.6% (2.7% in the third quarter and 3.2% estimates).
“The fourth quarter numbers are remarkable,” Haibin Zhu, JPMorgan’s chief China economist, told CNBC after the release of the latest Chinese economic data. “If you look at the 6.5% in the fourth quarter, it’s even higher than the pre-pandemic growth path. From that point of view, the V-shape recovery in China is complete,” he added.