The Chinese city once the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic, Wuhan, has expanded its economy by 58.4% in the first quarter of 2021, a year after Covid-19 paralyzed economic activity in China.
The city’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose to 357.4 billion yuan ($55 billion) in January-March compared to the same period last year, China’s CGTN reported citing data from local authorities.
Meanwhile the GDP of China’s Hubei province where Wuhan is located also went into positive territory for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak hit, Global Times reported earlier this week citing official statistics. It rose 58.3% to reach 987.27 billion yuan ($151.4 billion) in the first three months of 2021 compared with a 40% drop a year ago.
Also on rt.com China’s economy sees record growth after Covid-19 pandemic slump
The city and the whole province faced strict lockdowns that lasted for more than two months when the deadly virus started rapidly spreading across China and beyond at the beginning of 2020. Most local businesses and factories were closed due to the restrictions.
The region’s performance is part of a broader recovery of the Chinese economy. After becoming the only major economy that managed to expand in the pandemic year, China reported record 18.3% growth in the first quarter of 2021.
For more stories on economy & finance visit RT’s business section
Comments are closed.