China’s economy contracts for first time in nearly five decades
18:55
China’s economy shrank for the first time in decades in the first quarter of the year, as the virus forced factories and businesses to close. The financial toll the coronavirus is having on the Chinese economy will be a huge concern to other countries.
China is one of Poland’s biggest trading partners. Poland exports from China were $2.7 billion during 2019, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. Sino-Polish economic relations revolve around areas such as environmental protection, finance, agricultural technology, copper industry and coal mining. This also includes new areas like high technology, clean energy, labor, service and infrastructure.
The world’s second-biggest economy contracted 6.8 percent according to official data released on April 17. China is an economic powerhouse as a major consumer and producer of goods and services. This is the first time the Asian country has seen its economy shrink in the first three months of the year since it started recording quarterly figures in 1992.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that economies in Asia will see zero growth this year for the first time in 60 years. Its bleak outlook for the region comes as it warns the global economy will face the “worst recession since the Great Depression”. Asia’s service sector, in particular, will struggle to rebound, it said. Airlines, factories, shops and restaurants have been “hard hit” by national lockdowns.
(BBC1, BBC2, Saxo Bank)
