China's broad economic rebound puts it on 'stronger footing', says WSJ

Workers are seen on the production lines at the workshop of Dongfeng Passenger Vehicle Company in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, March 24, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's economy continued "an across-the-board recovery" in November, putting the world's second-largest economy on "stronger footing", The Wall Street Journal reported.

Major economic indicators, including industrial output, investment and consumer spending, all grew at faster pace in the country last month, supporting job growth and driving down unemployment rates, the paper said in an article.

China's growth in industrial value added rose by 7 percent year-on-year in November, from 6.9 percent in October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Retail sales, a key gauge of consumption, were up by 5 percent year-on-year, the fastest level of the year.

China's economy continued to gather steam in November thanks to previous credit policy and robust export demand, the journal quoted Li Wei, an economist with Standard Chartered PLC, as saying.

The investment bank had predicted China's economy would grow 5.5 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, but stronger-than-expected performances in October and November might push the actual growth number above that, he added.

China's fixed-asset investment edged up 2.6 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of the year, up 0.8 percentage points from the rise in the first 10 months. The surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5.2 percent in November, registering a four-month declining streak.

Earlier this month, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said in its Economic Outlook report that China is expected to post a 1.8-percent growth in 2020, the only major economy to record positive performance. The figure would jump to 8 percent in 2021.