Page 18 - Cong Yi News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

A new round of COVID-19 flare-ups continues to add pressure to the Chinese economy, with two major economic powerhouses – Shanghai and South China’s Guangdong Province – recording GDP growth rates below the national level of 4.8 percent during the first quarter of 2022 due to interruptions caused by lockdowns, while northern and inland provinces’ economies surged ahead on the back of stable investment and consumption.

Shanghai reported 3.1 percent GDP growth in the first quarter of the year, a sharp decline from 17.6 percent last year, and also slower than the country’s average of 4.8 percent as the coronavirus impact exerted pressure on the financial hub, and a leading growth engine of the world’s second-largest economy, starting March.

From two of China's major economic engines investment and consumption, to nascent growth points like pre-made food and China's relentless efforts to conduct reforms, economists observed multiple bright spots in China's economic growth momentum for the remaining months of 2022, despite economic woes from unexpected challenges including the COVID flare-ups in Shanghai and the Ukraine crisis.

During the Qingming Festival, the domestic tourism industry has been weighed down by a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in many places across the country as many avoided long-distance travel. But short trips and livestreaming tourism gained popularity, and bookings in places that have reined in the epidemic saw a strong rebound, according to reports from major travel agencies.

China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) contracted in March, as clusters of COVID-19 outbreaks hit many places across the country and global geopolitical instability also affected demand, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday.