Chinese Post-Pandemic Economy Continues Rebounding

China’s post-pandemic economy is showing signs of dramatic recovery for the first two months of this year, with key indicators up after a full year of coping with the devastating effects of COVID-19.

In January and February, China's industrial output escalated 35.1 percent and retail sales grew 33.8 percent, according to a Monday (March 15) press release from the National Bureau of Statistics of China. The world's second-largest economy also showed a full-year economic growth of 2.3 percent.

“The industry and exports grew fast, investment and consumption recovered steadily, employment and prices were generally stable, people’s basic livelihoods were safeguarded and the national economy sustained steady recovery,” according to the release. 

The Chinese agency said the year-on-year growth rates of major indicators were extraordinarily high “due to a low base of the same period in 2020. After deducting the base effects, major indicators grew steadily and macroeconomic indicators were within a reasonable range.”

As far as employment, January showed that 1.48 million people are now employed in urban areas, with an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent, according to the release. In February, the unemployment rate was 5.5 percent, 0.7 percentage points lower than that of the same period of the previous year. The unemployment rate was highest among young people 16 to 24 years old at 13.1 percent. People aged 25 to 59 have a 5.0 percent unemployment rate. 

China’s Communist Party's legislature, the National People's Congress, convened in Beijing on March 5 to discuss the country's 14th five-year plan. The economic blueprint includes aiming for 6 percent growth and upping technology investments. The plan also calls for maintaining the urban unemployment rate at 5.5 percent or less and expanding the country’s urbanization rate to 65 percent.

China's economy is expected to grow 8 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund. In light of the recovery, China has ended its stimulus programs. Chinese lawmakers are now looking into the overheating housing market and planning to relaunch a multi-year campaign to stop debt accumulation.