China GDP shrank 6.8% in Q1, first contraction in decades: government

[BEIJING] China's economy contracted for the first time in nearly three decades last quarter as drastic measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic brought activity to a standstill, official data showed on Friday.

Gross domestic product shrank 6.8 per cent in the January-March quarter from the same period a year earlier, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

It was the first negative growth reported by the world's second-largest economy since it began logging quarterly data in the early 1990s.

AFP

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL