The Chinese economy continued its recovery in the third quarter of 2020, albeit at a slower pace than many had predicted. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the country’s GDP grew by 4.9 percent year-over-year in the three months ended September 30, up from 3.2 percent growth in the second quarter. In the first three months of 2020, the coronavirus outbreak had resulted in the first quarterly GDP decline on record for the world’s second largest economy, and while the latest rebound puts China back on the growth track for the entirety of 2020, the first three quarters of the year were the slowest in terms of growth since 1992 for the notoriously booming economy.
China’s economic output had declined by 6.8 percent year-over-year in the first three months of 2020, after the coronavirus outbreak which originated in Wuhan (Hubei province) in December and the ensuing lockdown had stopped the country in its tracks. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, China’s economic growth had stabilized around 6 percent following a gradual slowdown from more than 10 percent growth in the first decade of the 21st century.
This chart shows China’s quarterly real GDP growth since Q1 1992.
