LONDON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- China has shown strong signs of economic recovery as many other countries are fighting to contain a resurge of coronavirus while bracing themselves for heavy falls in output this year, a major British newspaper reported.

"They (countries in Europe and North America) can only look with envy to China, where the economy has already recovered," The Times said in a report published Monday.

In its latest World Economic Outlook report released last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected the global economy to contract sharply by 4.4 percent this year. Meanwhile, it projected China's economy to grow by 1.9 percent this year, 0.9 percentage point above its June forecast.

"After relaxing their lockdowns over the summer, western rivals are struggling to protect their economies from a second wave of the virus. However, China deployed a severe lockdown and a robust testing regime to contain the virus the first time round," the Times report said. "Although its economy shrank at a record pace at the beginning of the year, the subsequent recovery has not yet come under threat."

Meanwhile, the Times also reported that a boom in infrastructure projects in China and sustained exports also contributed the country's economic growth.

"At the same time growth has powered ahead thanks to a state-backed boom in new infrastructure projects, including roads and high-speed train lines. This has fuelled the strong rebound in industrial production," said the report.

Exports "have also sustained the economy with four consecutive quarters of growth," it added. "The country's exporters have been taking market share from other parts of the world, where production is still hampered by restrictions. This has helped to fuel export growth, even as the global economy has started to soften once again."

The article also noted a rise in retail sales, consumption and service production, which all show signs of China's further economic recovery.

"We think growth will continue to pick up in the near term. Fiscal policy is set to remain supportive until at least the start of next year, which should keep activity in industry and construction strong...The recovery in consumption and services activity probably has further to run," Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at the British think-tank Capital Economics, told the newspaper.

China's economic recovery picked up steam in the third quarter as activities normalized amid effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Chinese government's sweeping efforts to stimulate demand and consumption, official data showed Monday.

China's Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 4.9 percent year on year in Q3, faster than the 3.2-percent growth seen in Q2, data from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.