China’s Clogged Roads Show Economic Recovery Gathering Pace

  • People are moving around at levels like before the pandemic
  • However, car and home sales were still weak this month

Vehicles travel along a road in Beijing on Feb. 15.

Source: Bloomberg

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China’s economic activity accelerated in February as many residents returned to work after an extended Lunar New Year break, clogging roads in major cities and spending more at restaurants and shops.

Congestion in major cities last week was the worst since at least the start of 2022, according to dataBloomberg Terminal compiled by BloombergNEF and Baidu. The number of people riding the subway in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and other major cities was back to or above pre-pandemic levels.