China: The Chinese government’s data has stated that the country’s economy grew 3 percent in 2022, one of the weakest performances in the modern history of the world’s most populous country. The low economic growth might have resulted from the country’s strict coronavirus regulations, which significantly affected businesses.
The National Bureau of Statistics figures showed that the economy expanded 2.9 percent during the final quarter, slowing from 3.9 percent growth during the July-September period.
Excluding 2020, the Chinese economy in 2022 had its weakest performance since 1976, the final year of Mr. Mao Zedong’s three-decade rule.
“The good news is that there are now signs of stabilization, as policy support doled out towards the end of 2022 is showing up in the relative resilience of infrastructure investment and credit growth,” Mr. Louise Loo, Senior Economist at Oxford Economics, remarked.
Beijing abruptly loosened pandemic restrictions in December 2022, in the wake of some of the biggest protests in years. Strict lockdowns and quarantines, as well as compulsory testing, led to the mass closures of manufacturing facilities and businesses in major hubs, including Zhengzhou, home of the world’s biggest iPhone factory.
The zero-COVID policy had a major impact on the country’s economic activity in 2022, but the sudden relaxation of the rules has led to a jump in COVID cases that threatens to also drag on growth in the early part of this year.
In the beginning of January 2022, China reopened its borders following three years of international isolation after earlier scrapping most of its draconian restrictions. The country’s reopening has been followed by a surge in infections that has overwhelmed hospitals, crematoriums, and morgues.
Health authorities have reported nearly 60,000 COVID deaths since early December 2022, although experts outside the country and international experience suggest the actual death toll is likely to be far higher.
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