China’s economy grows 18.3% in post-coronavirus recovery

China’s economic growth surged to 18.3% compared to a year earlier in the first quarter of this year as factory and consumer activity recovered from the coronavirus pandemic (Ng Han Guan/AP)

China’s economy grew 18.3% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same quarter last year after factory and consumer activity returned largely to normal following the coronavirus pandemic.

The figures reported on Friday were magnified by comparison with early 2020, when the world’s second-largest economy fell into its deepest contraction in decades.