Even as the western economies are shrinking China has registered a marked improvement in its growth since the previous quarter. The economic growth improved from 3.2 % in the quarter April-June to 4.9 % in the July-September quarter.
The interesting aspect is that while the Corona Virus cases are increasing rapidly in Europe and the west, the cases in China have stagnated although the pandemic was first reported in the country. China, the second largest economy in the world, is expected to register a growth this year while economic activity in India , US and Europe has declined. China first reported the case on November 9 last year in Wuhan but it was able to control the spread of the disease by March and by early April the lockdown in Wuhan was lifted.
The economy of the Middle Kingdom contracted by 6.8 % in the first quarter of this year before recovering. While China has become the first country in the world to return to growth, the other developed countries of the world—not to speak of the developing and under-developed countries–are still struggling to return to normalcy post-Corona Virus.
As the second largest economy registered a growth most Asian stock markets, such as Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, showed a positive trend. Even Markets in South Korea and Australia also rose. It needs to be mentioned that the economies of all these Far-eastern and Pacific countries are intricately linked to that of the People’s Republic of China.
Although China faces great pressure to prevent the revival of the disease the authorities in China have relaxed several restrictions on travel and business though visitors to government offices and public buildings such as malls, museums and other places are being checked for any sign of the disease.
