Dialoguepk

17 May 2020 Author: Justin Yifu Lin, Peking University In order to realise its goals to double 2010 GDP and per capita GDP by 2020, China needs to achieve at least 5.6 per cent growth this year. This growth target would not have been difficult to achieve if not for the unexpected outbreak of COVID-19 in January. China took  effective measures  to suppress the pandemic. The whole country was under lockdown in February. In March, control measures were relaxed and production and business started to resume. But many export-oriented enterprises encountered a sudden drop or cancellation of orders due to the impact of COVID-19 in Europe, the United States and other parts of the world. China’s GDP fell 6.8 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020. The risk of a possible second wave of COVID-19 infections means prevention measures need to be instilled and normalised as China embarks on the long road to economic recovery. In the second quarter, China’s economic growth is likely to expe