[ti:China Reports 2020 Economic Growth After Strong Last Quarter]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]China’s economy picked up speed in the fourth quarter of 2020
[00:06.40]to end the year with a growth rate of 2.3 percent.
[00:13.68]The growth could make China the only major economic power
[00:19.08]to expand following worldwide business shutdowns
[00:23.96]caused by the coronavirus crisis.
[00:28.92]Growth in the three months ending in December
[00:32.68]rose to 6.5 percent over a year earlier,
[00:38.12]official data released this week showed.
[00:42.88]The growth was driven in large part by the Chinese public
[00:47.80]returning to stores, restaurants and movie theaters.
[00:54.40]In the first quarter, economy activity fell 6.8 percent,
[01:00.20]as the ruling Party decided to shut down most of its economy
[01:06.04]to fight the coronavirus.
[01:08.60]In the second quarter, China became the first major economy to expand.
[01:15.24]It reported 3.2 percent growth during that period.
[01:21.96]That rate came after officials declared victory over the virus in March
[01:28.48]and permitted factories, stores and offices to reopen.
[01:35.64]Today, restaurants are filling up with people again.
[01:39.68]So are movie theaters and some major stores.
[01:44.08]Crowds are still thin at large shopping malls, however,
[01:48.88]where guards take the temperature of visitors
[01:52.48]to identify possible coronavirus cases.
[01:57.76]Tourism within China has also started to come back.
[02:02.60]However, some Chinese cities are reporting a rise in new infections.
[02:09.08]Because of this, China’s government has urged the public
[02:14.36]to stay home during the Lunar New Year holiday in February.
[02:20.24]The Lunar New Year holiday is normally
[02:23.56]the busiest part of China’s travel season.
[02:28.52]China moved quickly to put public restrictions in place
[02:33.12]across the country when the virus appeared.
[02:37.12]Experts say the action permitted China to largely contain the virus
[02:43.32]much more quickly than most countries.
[02:47.68]Another driver of the country’s latest economic growth
[02:52.28]was a boost in exports
[02:54.72]linked to the demand for Chinese-made face masks
[02:59.08]and other medical goods during the pandemic.
[03:04.16]Rajiv Biswas is with the market research company IHS Markit.
[03:11.00]He said in a report that China’s 2020 growth
[03:16.36]showed clear gains in consumer activity
[03:19.92]and strong export performance.
[03:23.20]Biswas added that China is likely to be the only major economy
[03:29.44]to have growth in 2020.
[03:32.96]Developed nations and most major developing markets
[03:37.20]experienced a recession.
[03:40.60]China’s National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement
[03:45.40]that the economy had “recovered steadily.”
[03:50.16]It added that the ruling party’s development goals had progressed
[03:55.08]“better than expectations.”
[03:58.72]Even with the fourth quarter rise, China’s overall 2.3 percent rate
[04:05.16]marked the country’s weakest economic expansion in many years.
[04:10.76]Iris Pang is an economist in China
[04:15.00]with financial services company ING.
[04:19.04]She wrote in a report that it is too early to tell
[04:24.04]whether the Chinese growth results represent “a full recovery.”
[04:30.68]She said experts are watching “external demand”
[04:34.92]for exports, which has not yet fully recovered.
[04:40.48]The International Monetary Fund and private industry experts
[04:45.88]have predicted China’s economic growth
[04:49.20]will rise more in 2021, to above 8 percent.
[04:55.96]I’m Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM