China’s economy expanded 18.3 per cent in the first three months of 2021, its fastest year-on-year rate for any quarter on record, highlighting the strength of its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The sharp rise in gross domestic product was also helped by the weak performance of the economy during the same period a year ago, when China suffered a contraction for the first time in decades.
The data underscored the rapid pace of recovery in China, where a frenzy of industrial activity and low Covid-19 infection rates combined to push growth above pre-pandemic levels by the end of last year, and far beyond the performance of other big economies.