China’s economic growth performance

In this interview given to BBC Arabic, Dr Carole Nakhle, CEO of Crystol Energy, comments on the latest economic data from China which showed 18% growth in Q1 2021.

Although impressive, the growth is relative to Q1 2020 when the Chinese economy contracted significantly as the country was the first to suffer from COVID-19. The International Monetary Fund forecasts the world’s second biggest economy after the US to grow the fastest this year at 8.4%. Nearly half of world’s COVID-19 vaccination have been administered in those two countries (as of April 2021).

Dr Nakhle expressed concerns for the poorer nations which faced the pandemic from an already weak stance; these will struggle the most even when the pandemic is brought under control.