China Becomes First Economy To Grow Since Pandemic

BEIJING (AP) – China has become the first major economy to grow since the start of the coronavirus pandemic after anti-virus lockdowns were lifted and factories and stores reopened. The world’s second-largest economy expanded by 3.2% over a year earlier in the quarter ending in June. That was a dramatic improvement over the previous quarter’s 6.8% contraction that was China’s worst performance since at least the mid-1960s. But it still was the weakest positive figure since China started reporting quarterly growth in the early 1990s. China, where the coronavirus pandemic began in December, was the first economy to shut down and the first to start the drawn-out process of recovery in March after the ruling Communist Party declared the disease under control.