China’s economy to pick up pace

Beijing: China´s economic recovery gathered pace in the third quarter, according to an AFP poll of analysts, with consumer spending gradually picking up as coronavirus fears eased, helping a wider rebound spurred by investment and exports.

Growth in July-September is expected to come in at 5.2 percent when official data is released Monday, bringing the world´s second-largest economy closer to last year´s 6.1 percent annual expansion, even as countries around the world struggle to contain the deadly pandemic.

With the virus now largely under control in China, most social distancing measures have been removed -- and consumers have streamed back into restaurants and malls, hopped on flights and trains for domestic holidays and packed tourist districts.

AFP´s survey, involving analysts from 13 institutions, also forecast full-year growth of 2.3 percent, slightly above the International Monetary Fund´s forecast, which tagged China as the only major economy likely to expand this year.