China becomes first major economy to recover from Covid-19 pandemic

Year-on-year expansion, while slightly lower than analyst expectations, represents a dramatic reversal

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The Chinese economy grew 4.9% between July and September, according to government data, as China becomes the first major economy to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The year-on-year expansion, while slightly lower than analyst expectations, represents a dramatic reversal from the first quarter of this year when the economy shrunk by 6.8%, China's first contraction since 1992 when officials began keeping quarterly GDP data.