The coronavirus pandemic and its consequences have shown how fragile the Chinese economy is. Despite a return to expansion, economic indicators are rather weak. Last year, China's GDP growth rate amounted to just 2.3%.

In 2020, the Chinese economy grew at the slowest pace in the last four decades. However, the COVID-19 outbreak was not the only reason. The local economy has been declining for several years in a row. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China's economic growth came in at 6.8% in 2017, 6.6% in 2018, and 6% in 2019. Moreover, independent experts believe that the agency's figures are usually overestimated.

However, the previous year turned out to be the worst in terms of economic growth in more than 40 years. In 1967, China's output shrank to minus 1.6% - the last time the economy recorded a negative performance. At the same time, the country made some progress in other indicators. Despite the coronavirus crisis, China's per capita income increased by 4.7% to 32,189 yuan (approximately $4,960) on an annualized basis.

According to Ning Jizhe, the head of the National Bureau of Statistics, the country is still at the primary stage of socialism. Therefore, the government will have to step up efforts to bridge the income gap between China and developed countries.