The coronavirus disease pandemic has been an unprecedented blow to China's economic development, but the government is confident that it would overcome the difficulties, Yan Pengcheng, an official with the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission, said on Monday
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2020) The coronavirus disease pandemic has been an unprecedented blow to China's economic development, but the government is confident that it would overcome the difficulties, Yan Pengcheng, an official with the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission, said on Monday.
The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics said last week that the country's GDP fell by 6.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first recorded GDP decrease in China since 1992, when Beijing started to publish official statistics.
"The first quarter of this year was extremely unusual, the new coronavirus epidemic is the most acute crisis since the World War II, which has become an unprecedented blow for China's economic development, and all major macroeconomic indicators have significantly decreased," Yan said at a press conference.
The official added that the economic situation in the first quarter of 2020 could not be seen as a reflection of basic economic realities of China, as the pandemic disrupted normal economic activity in many countries. Yan added that the pandemic represented an unprecedented challenge for the national economy, but expressed confidence in Beijing abilities to curb the negative impact of the outbreak.
According to the Chinese National Health Commission, the country now has 82,747 confirmed coronavirus cases. The death toll is 4,632; over 77,000 COVID-19 patients have been released from hospitals.
