Economics
China Heads for Record GDP Growth in Months of Wild Data Swings
- Record-breaking GDP growth expected in first quarter
- Data distortions will hit other major economies later in year
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China watchers are in for a wild ride of economic data in the early months of 2021, giving a largely distorted picture of the recovery from coronavirus shutdowns a year ago.
The world’s second-largest economy was the first to go into lockdown to control virus outbreaks in 2020, leading to an historic contraction in gross domestic product in the first quarter of last year. That means year-on-year comparisons for the main indicators watched by most economists will show surging growth over the next few months.