Photos: China reports growth as industries recover from lockdown

China has become the first major nation to register growth after the battering brought upon world economies by the coronavirus pandemic. Growth figures reported on July 16 by the National Bureau of Statistics showed a dramatic improvement over the previous quarter’s 6.8% contraction — China’s worst performance since at least the mid-1960s. But it still was the weakest positive figure since China started reporting quarterly growth in the early 1990s. China, believed to be the epicentre of coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, was the first economy to shut down and the first to start the drawn-out process of recovery after the ruling Communist Party declared the disease under control in March.

Updated on: Jul 17, 2020 6:08 PM IST

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Containers stacked at a port in Lianyungang in China’s eastern Jiangsu province on July 14. China has become the first major economy to report growth following the coronavirus pandemic. It recorded an unexpectedly strong 3.2% expansion over a year earlier in the latest quarter as lockdown were lifted and factories and stores reopened, AP reported. (AFP)

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Women take a selfie at a shopping mall near the CCTV headquarters and China Zun skyscraper in Beijing’s central business district on July 16. Growth reported on July 16 was a dramatic improvement over the previous quarter’s 6.8% contraction — China’s worst performance since at least the mid-1960s. (Tingshu Wang / REUTERS)

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Pedestrians wearing protective masks walk past stores in the Xidan shopping area in Beijing on July 15. China, where the coronavirus pandemic began late last year, was the first economy to shut down and the first to start the drawn-out process of recovery after the ruling government declared the disease under control in March. (Giulia Marchi / Bloomberg)

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Various types of beans and pulses are displayed at a stall in Sanyuanli market in Beijing on July 15. “The national economy shifted from slowing down to rising in the first half of 2020,” the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement, AP reported. (Giulia Marchi / Bloomberg)

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Employees work on a truck assembly line at a factory in Fuyang in China’s eastern Anhui province on July 16. Manufacturing and some other industries are almost back to normal operating levels. But consumer spending is weak due to public unease about possible job losses. (AFP)

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A worker disinfects packages as they are unloaded from a truck at a JD.com distribution center in Beijing on July 16. Economists say China is likely to recover faster than some other major economies due to Beijing’s decision to impose the most intensive anti-disease measures in history. That included stringent suspensions of trade and travel. (Greg Baker / AFP)

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A vendor prepares prior to the start of morning retail shift at the Dounan Flower Market in Kunming on July 14. In the three months ending in June, factory output rose 4.4%, a sharp rebound from the previous quarter’s 8.4% contraction as factories that make the world’s smartphones, shoes, toys and other goods reopened, AP reported. (Qilai Shen / Bloomberg)

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A delivery person walks out of a Burger King store in Beijing on July 17. Retail sales shrank by 3.9%, but that was a marked improvement over the previous quarter’s 19% contraction when millions of families had been confined to their homes and shopping malls were shut down. (Ng Han Guan / AP)