World Bank raises China growth outlook to 8.5%

FILE - In this May 12, 2021, file photo, shoppers wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk through the capital popular shopping mall in Beijing. The World Bank raised its forecast of Chinas economic growth this year to 8.5% from 8.1% and said Tuesday, June 29, 2021, a full recovery requires progress in vaccinations against the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File) (Andy Wong, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

BEIJING – The World Bank raised its forecast of China’s economic growth this year to 8.5% from 8.1% and said Tuesday that a full recovery requires progress in vaccinations against the coronavirus.

The report adds to positive signs for China, the first major economy to rebound from the pandemic. Factory and consumer activity are back above pre-outbreak levels, though authorities have re-imposed travel controls in some areas to counter outbreaks of new variants of the virus.

Recommended Videos



Chinese economic growth is likely to decline to 5.4% next year as the rebound from last year’s history-making global slump fades and activity returns to normal, the World Bank said.

Its forecast was an increase over a report in April that said China and Vietnam were the only East Asian economies to achieve a “v-shaped” recovery in 2020 with output back above pre-coronavirus levels.

China is on track to vaccinate 40% of its population by early summer, but "a full recovery will also require continued progress toward achieving wide-spread immunization,” the World Bank said.