Chinese officials said Monday that GDP "expanded by 4.9% in the third quarter from a year earlier, putting China’s economy back toward its pre-coronavirus trajectory," The Wall Street Journal reports from Beijing.
Why it matters: This shows a superpower economy can bounce back quickly after the virus is defeated.
China revived its economy in roughly three stages, The Journal writes:
- First, by shutting down most economic activity.
- In April, authorities got factories revved up again, allowing exports to increase.
- Then, in the third quarter, with the virus almost stamped out, authorities began encouraging consumers to venture out and open their wallets.
Lei Yanqiu, a Wuhan resident in her early 30s, told the N.Y. Times: "You’ve had to line up to get into many restaurants in Wuhan, and for Wuhan restaurants that are popular on the internet, the wait is two or three hours."
