China's economy set to stand again: media

Staff members work at a workshop of an auto manufacturing enterprise in Jimo district of Qingdao, east China's Shandong province, Jan 28, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's economy shows signs of improvement in January as the country optimized COVID-19 response measures, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

Bloomberg's aggregate index of eight early indicators showed a slight uptick in activity in January, compared with a contraction during December.

Consumption is seen as the driving force for the world's second-largest economy this year, particularly as the global economy cools, Bloomberg said.

Data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed that there were 308 million domestic tourist visits during the seven-day Spring Festival holiday, up 23.1 percent year-on-year and equivalent to about 88.6 percent of the pre-COVID level in 2019.

According to a survey from the China Cuisine Association, restaurant revenue rose nearly 25 percent during the Spring Festival holiday, while box office revenue witnessed a year-on-year growth of nearly 12 percent to 6.76 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), official data showed.

Confidence among small businesses was better in January, with real estate, transport, accommodation and catering activities all seeing a sharp rebound, Bloomberg said quoting data from Standard Chartered.

The optimism was present in major onshore stocks, even before the holiday began. The CSI 300 index regained traction in January, advancing about 8 percent ahead of the holiday week compared with the end of December.

High frequency data signal spending surged during the Spring Festival holiday, Bloomberg economist David Qu said, adding that consumer spending should provide key support to the economic recovery.