The Chinese economy contracted by 6.8% year-on-year in the first quarter this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to official data revealed on Friday.
“A YEAR-ON-YEAR DECREASE OF 6.8 PERCENT”
China faced with “severe test of coronavirus outbreak” in the first three months of 2020, however, the situation was brought under control and business/production activities accelerated in the country, said the National Bureau of Statistics.
“According to the preliminary estimates, the gross domestic product of China was 20.65 trillion yuan ($2.9 trillion) in the first quarter of 2020, a year-on-year decrease of 6.8 percent at comparable prices,” it noted.
During the January-March period, while industrial and services production, market sales, investments, foreign trade, unemployment and incomes per capita posted declines, while agricultural production was steady, the bureau said.