China recorded its slowest economic growth rate in over two years as Beijing’s zero-tolerance coronavirus approach takes its toll.
China’s gross domestic product expanded 0.4% from April to June of this year compared to the same period last year, the worst performance since the first quarter of 2020, when China shut down Wuhan, then the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said Friday.
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The country’s second-quarter economic performance is a sharp contrast to the first quarter of this year, when China recorded a 4.8% growth compared to last year.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, China has sought to maintain its zero-COVID policy, instituting stringent lockdowns to tame infection rates. Thirty-one cities remain under full or partial lockdowns, accounting for 17% of the country’s economic activity as it attempts to quell resurgent COVID-19 outbreaks, according to Axios.
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The slowing growth rate seemed imminent as the lockdowns shuttered supply chains and delayed shipments of goods to other countries in the world’s second-biggest economy.
There are 19,929 confirmed cases in China as of Thursday, according to its National Health Commission.
